Man to serve up to 15 years for stabbing death at party

Man to serve up to 15 years for stabbing death at party

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PAYSON — A Spanish Fork man has been sentenced to serve up to 15 years in prison for killing a man who had kept his nephew from attending a Fourth of July party.

On Tuesday, 4th District Judge Thomas Low ordered Keenan Thompson, 30, to serve one to 15 years for manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and a concurrent term of up to five years for use of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony.

Thompson was also ordered to pay $26,000 in fines.

On July 4, 2012, William "KC" Wright, 36, was stabbed in the neck and abdomen after denying a 15-year-old entrance to a party at his Payson home, 644 N. 700 East.

According to witnesses who testified at previous court hearings, the teen tried to drink and steal beer at the party. Wright repeatedly escorted the boy out of his party and told him he could attend when he was of legal drinking age.

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The 15-year-old screamed to people at the party that his cousin, and on occasion his brother, were going to come and "kill all of you," one witness testified. Wright talked with the boy and he stopped yelling.

The teen called his cousin, Sadie Leavitt, Thompson's girlfriend, "crying hysterically," she testified. He told her that he had been locked out of his grandparents' house, who were Wright's neighbors, had been hit in the face and needed to be picked up.

Shortly after, Thompson showed up at the party and stabbed Wright in the neck and abdomen. Witnesses said he then sped off with the teen, leaving Wright on the ground.

Prosecutors say Thompson then disposed of the knife and some clothing, and tested positive for cocaine after he was arrested.

Thompson was originally charged with murder, a first-degree felony, but he was allowed to plead guilty to the reduced charge. Additional charges of obstructing justice and possession or use of a controlled substance were dismissed.

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Whitney Evans

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