Sheriff's deputies looking for suspect in two murders

Sam Penrod and Marc Giauque reportingA woman was discovered beaten to death inside her central Utah home just hours after a man was shot to death a few miles away late last night.

Now deputies have named a suspect wanted in both killings. The murders occurred in Mount Pleasant and Fairview in Sanpete County.

The first murder happened just before midnight last night in Mount Pleasant. Thirty-nine-year-old Martin Cannon was shot to death when he answered the door of his trailer home.

Then, just before noon today, a friend of 46-year-old Annette Young came to her house and found her dead inside of her home in Fairview. Deputies say it was a very violent death, likely from a beating.

Deputies have named a suspect in both murders: 48-year-old Donald Bert Richardson, Young's former boyfriend. Sanpete County Sheriff's Sgt. Greg Peterson said, "He's got a shaved head with an eagle on the side of his head, tattooed on the side of his head, and he has tattoos on his arms."

Richardson is believed to be driving a 1991 burgundy, four-door Chrysler New Yorker with a "Utah Centennial" license plate of 629-VHY. That's the female victim's car.

He is believed to be armed and dangerous.

Don Smith used to carpool with Richardson. He said, "It's devastating. Don was a nice guy, really, most of the time. He did have a temper, but I didn't think he would be capable of anything like this, even though he had a criminal history he shared with me. I didn't think he would do something like this."

Peterson said, "I don't know if the female in Fairview and male in Mount Pleasant have any kind of connection, but the suspect knows both. We have been able to establish that the suspect, Donald, does know both of them, but I haven't heard if there's any kind of connection between her and him."

Deputies are not giving any possible motive right now for the murders. They say if you see him, call 911.

E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com

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