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Team coverageThe mother of a woman shot and left for dead at Jordanelle Reservoir says she talked to one of the suspects after her daughter went missing. Her daughter, 21-year-old Ashley Sparks, was found by park visitors but later died at a Salt Lake hospital.
Pamela Larsen says she had a bad feeling when no one had heard from her daughter after Christmas. She told us about a phone conversation with one of the suspects.
"I wanted to know where she was, and he said he had no idea and that he wouldn't do anything like that to her, that he hadn't done anything. But he told me that if she snitched on them, that he would, and that was out of his own mouth," Larsen said.
She says that comment came from Joshua Binkerd. Police arrested Binkerd and another man, Christopher Alvey, over the weekend in connection with Sparks' murder.
The probable-cause statement released to KSL by the Salt Lake County Jail says Binkerd admitted his involvement in Sparks' death and ordered Alvey to pull the trigger.
The statement goes on to say that the crime was premeditated, according to several witnesses, and that the victim was shot with a 9mm handgun, a gun witnesses say Alvey carries at all times.
"They knew directly what they were doing when they did it, and it just makes me ill thinking that she was left all alone and scared and wondering, I'm sure just wishing that her mom was there," Larsen said. "She was left by herself bleeding and in the cold, you know, and I don't think they deserve any mercy for that."
Larsen says Sparks was acquainted with both men, and investigators say she was scared of them.
"Threats were made in reference to having a handgun and threats of her life. She had expressed some concerns for her safety to other individuals," said Sid Groll, law enforcement director for the Utah Department of Natural Resources.
Larsen says her daughter was involved in drugs, specifically methamphetamine, but wanted to turn her life around. She believes retaliation was the motive for the shooting.
"From what I understand, she was trying to get information on them to put them away, and they found out and were here today," Larsen said.
She says Sparks was a loving, generous and caring person. Sparks leaves behind an 18-month-old son, who lives with his father.
Binkerd and Alvey both have criminal histories and were arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder.
Larsen says her family is struggling to comprehend what has happened. She says Sparks was a loving mother to her son and someone who cared deeply about her family.
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
