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The teen accused of killing his 15-year-old girlfriend, Anne Kasprzak, on Thursday had his murder case transferred from juvenile court to adult court.
Darwin Christopher Bagshaw, 17, is to appear May 29 before 3rd District Judge James Blanch.
Bagshaw, who was just 14 at the time of Kasprzak's slaying, was initially was charged in juvenile court with first-degree felony murder and second-degree felony obstruction of justice.
But 3rd District Juvenile Court Judge Dane Nolan dismissed the obstruction charge on Thursday, saying that doing so was in Bagshaw's best interest as murder case goes forward.
Bagshaw, is accused of killing Kasprzak in 2012 by brutally beating her and tossing her body into the Jordan River.
The Salt Lake Tribune, which does not typically identify juvenile offenders, began naming Bagshaw in April after Nolan certified the teen to face charges in the adult criminal justice system.
In dismissing the obstruction charge, Nolan sided with prosecutors who argued in court papers that adjudicating that count separately in juvenile court — as requested by defense attorneys — raised a potential appeal issue that could complicate Bagshaw's prosecution on a murder charge.
A juvenile court record could also hurt Bagshaw in the future with the state parole board, Nolan said. The board he decides how long the convicted remain in Utah's prisons, and a juvenile court adjudication would count against Bagshaw.
Bagshaw had been expected to plead no contest to the obstruction of justice count in Thursday. That would have kept him in the juvenile detention system until age 21, where he would have had access to treatment services.
"The juvenile defense team is disappointed that we could not arrange for some juvenile justices services for our client," Bagshaw's attorney William Russell said. "But we respect Judge Nolan's decision. It was obvious he spent a lot of time and a lot of effort [on the issue]."
Also Thursday, Nolan ordered the May 29 date for Bagshaw's first appearance in adult court and set his bail at $100,0000.
Russell said Bagshaw is expected to remain in juvenile detention until his initial appearance and could potentially stay there until his 18th birthday, which comes in five weeks.
Kasprzak was reported missing from her Riverton home on March 10, 2012. Her beaten body was pulled from the Jordan River in Draper the next day.
Prosecutors contend the murder was premeditated, saying Bagshaw lured Kasprzak to an isolated spot near the river, where he killed her and dumped her body, then tried to cover up the crime.
Kasprzak had been telling friends and family she was pregnant with Bagshaw's baby, but her stepfather testified that she wasn't pregnant.
An autopsy concluded Kasprzak had suffered up to nine blows which left her skull fractured and her forehead shattered.
Bagshaw was charged in October 2014 and arrested at a residence in Colorado where he was living.