Man admits to killing woman while in town for 1993 NBA All-Star weekend

SALT LAKE CITY — A 63-year-old man pleaded guilty to murder last week after DNA evidence led to him being charged 33 years after the killing.

James Wallace Petersen III admitted to killing 35-year-old Theresa Morlock at her 643 S. Redwood Road apartment after the NBA All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City. A maintenance man discovered Morlock's body when he went to her apartment to repossess a microwave.

Charges state it appeared a struggle had occurred, and an autopsy found she died from "asphyxiation due to strangulation and smothering."

As part of a plea deal, a second charge for aggravated sexual assault, a first-degree felony, was dismissed. Petersen's plea statement said he agrees to serve a prison term of five years to life, the 1993 statutory prison sentence for murder, a first-degree felony. Currently, the minimum sentence is 15 years in prison.

Morlock's neighbor told investigators that on Feb. 22, 1993, she told him that "she needed a ride to find a trick for money." Later that night, Morlock was back in her apartment and introduced the neighbor to "a male she had picked up" who "was in town for the All-Star game and he was from Arizona," but did not give a name.

A statement from the Salt Lake District Attorney's Office said Morlock's body had "severe bite marks on her chest and right thumb," and they used the bite marks to find a DNA profile, along with a hair found near one of the marks.

In 2025, new DNA technology helped detectives identify a possible suspect from that hair sample. It connected detectives to a cousin of Petersen, and they eventually identified him.

While talking to detectives in Cedar City, Petersen admitted to being in Salt Lake City for the game and said it "was common for him to spend a few hours with sex workers, having some beers and talking," charges said.

After being questioned, Petersen planned to relocate to South Dakota, but he was arrested in Vernal, according to charging documents.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said his office appreciates the work to secure a guilty conviction in the case in less than six months.

"We hope that this conviction helps the victim's family feel that they have received accountability and some level of justice for the loss of their loved one," he said.

Petersen will be sentenced on Sept. 21.

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