More delays likely in case of convicted murderer Doug Lovell

FARMINGTON — The family of a woman murdered 41 years ago will have to wait a little longer for resolution, possibly as long as a decade, after a judge allowed the lead counsel representing her convicted murderer, Doug Lovell, to withdraw from the case.

Doug Lovell has been twice sentenced to death for the 1985 murder of Joyce Yost, a 39-year-old South Ogden resident. Twice, those sentences were overturned even as the conviction stands.

Lovell sat erect, his eyes forward, in the Farmington courtroom Friday as his attorneys argued for a closed hearing to address some concerns raised about lead counsel Julia George. George has denied any wrongdoing, but the concerns apparently arise from a letter written to Lovell by his previous lead counsel, Colleen Coebergh.

KSL argued for the court proceedings to remain open, represented by attorney Sean Sigillito with Parr Brown Gee & Loveless. As a result, only part of the hearing was closed to the public for less than 15 minutes.

"That issue specifically required some portion of the hearing to be closed to the public, and even closed to the state," Sigillito said.

Second District Judge Michael DiReda ruled the partial closing was necessary as George would need to discuss privileged communications with her client.

When the hearing was reopened, DiReda ruled George could withdraw, setting the slate for a lengthy appeals process to go much longer.

New sentencing for Doug Lovell likely delayed

Replacing a public defender in a high-profile death penalty case like that of Doug Lovell is no quick move. The murder of Joyce Yost took place in 1985, just months after she accused Lovell of kidnapping and raping her, and right before she was set to testify before him at his rape trial. He was only convicted of her murder after his ex-wife, Rhonda Buttars, turned state's witness and was able to record him admitting to the murder.

Twice, Doug Lovell was sentenced to death. And again twice, those sentences were overturned on appeals — most recently because the Utah Supreme Court ruled Lovell's attorneys did not properly object to religious testimony at his sentencing.

As is common, that meant Lovell was appointed new public defenders as he headed toward what will be his third sentencing, in which the death penalty is still an option. That sentencing hearing was supposed to start in August.

Replacing the lead counsel now, with just months to go before the planned sentencing hearing, has the potential to delay a 41-year-old murder case even further.

Public defenders with special qualifications needed

Weber County must open applications to Rule 8 — or capital-case-certified attorneys, which triggers a bid process because the taxpayers are paying for Lovell's defense. That could take some time.

"It seems as if the defense team is confident that they're going to try to expedite proceedings, but given the nature of the delay already, they may not be able to meet their deadlines with the currently set trial," Sigillito said Friday.

Once that person is hired and under contract, they will need to get up to speed on a complicated case that dates back over 40 years. There are thousands of documents related to the original case and the subsequent appeals over the past several decades. Potentially, it sets the sentencing hearing back by a year or more, and however many years' worth of appeals that might follow.

Doug Lovell would be around 78 years old in another 10 years. If she had lived until 2036, Joyce Yost would have been 90 years old. Her body has never been found.

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