The 20-year-old St. George woman was killed, her body left by a country road east of Toquerville in January, to prevent her from testifying or providing evidence, or in retaliation for doing so, according to capital murder charges filed this week in 5th District Court.

Details of what Stubbs knew are not disclosed in the charging documents. Stubbs, however, was with Brown on Nov. 14, when police say he used a stolen credit card to make purchases at a St. George Wal-Mart.

Another factor making the homicide a capital crime - which is punishable by death - is that Stubbs was killed in an "especially heinous, atrocious, cruel or exceptionally depraved manner . . . demonstrated by physical torture, serious physical abuse or serious bodily injury," according to charging documents.

Two of Brown's co-defendants claim that on Jan. 4, Stubbs was brought to a house where she was "severely" beaten, bound with duct tape and gagged. They say she was then driven to the spot where she was shot at least twice in the head with a .357-caliber handgun.

Her body was found three days later by two people riding all-terrain vehicles.

The co-defendants, Tina Eileen Roberts, 35, of Hurricane, and Kyle Sheldon Jensen, 20, of Ivins, were initially charged with murder but last month pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping.

As a condition of their plea deals, Roberts and Jensen have agreed to testify against Brown. Their sentencing hearings are set for May 10.

Roberts admitted participating in the beating of Stubbs. Jensen admitted assisting in binding her and in carrying her to the car used to take her to the scene of the death. Both Roberts and Jensen admitted being present when the woman was shot.

Roberts had previously told police that after the killing, she called her daughter and told her to clean the blood from the floor of the house where the beating occurred.

In addition to capital murder and aggravated kidnapping, Brown is charged with second-degree felony obstruction of justice. A probable cause statement says that Brown disposed of "numerous items of evidence."

Brown's arraignment is set for this afternoon in St. George. He is being held at the Washington County jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

During the past 15 months, Brown has been charged in Washington County with crimes including drug possession and distribution, theft, forgery, car theft and credit-card fraud. Defense attorney Aric Cramer, who represents Brown on his other pending cases, said he expects to be appointed to the capital case.

Until this week, Brown had been in jail in Las Vegas, where he was arrested Jan. 11 on credit-card crimes allegations.

Cramer said the Nevada cases have been resolved.

shunt@sltrib.com