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- The Utah Board of Pardons denied parole for Andy Vigil, 54, this week.
- Vigil, convicted of murdering his mother in 1990, will remain imprisoned until at least 2027.
SALT LAKE CITY — A man who at one time faced a possible death sentence for killing his mother will remain in the Utah State Prison for at least another two years.
This week, the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole denied 54-year-old Andy Leon Vigil's request for parole. But the board did grant him another hearing sometime in 2027.
On Sept. 2, 1990, Vigil sexually assaulted a 4-year-old girl his mother was babysitting in Salt Lake City and then killed his mother by hitting her with a baseball bat as she lay in bed.
Vigil was convicted in 1990 of criminal homicide and sex abuse of a child. He was originally charged with capital murder for the death of his mother, Juanita Madrigal, 40, and accused of sexually assaulting her as well. That charge was dropped as part of a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for his guilty pleas. He was sentenced to life in prison.
"The court will recommend to the Board of Pardons that the defendant not be subject to parole and that he serve the remainder of his life in the state prison," 3rd District Judge Homer Wilkinson said as he handed down the sentence.
In 1997, the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole ordered Vigil to serve the rest of his natural life in prison. But just three years later, a redetermination hearing was requested, and in September of this year, Vigil was granted a parole hearing.
During the hearing, Vigil told the board that the assaults happened after a four-day drug binge. He says his crimes were impulsive and not planned.
"I wish I had been in my right mind. I wish things had been different. ... Nobody wants to hear 'sorry,' but I am sorry."
