This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Utah man has pleaded guilty to killing an elderly Murray woman and setting fire to her home to cover up the crime.
Christen James Spencer, 50, entered the plea to a single count of aggravated murder on Tuesday in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court, in connection with the Jan. 25 beating death of 84-year-old Shirley Sharp, Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Chou Chou Collins said.
Spencer could have faced the death penalty for the brutal murder, but in exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend that he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Six other counts — one each of aggravated burglary, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated arson and failure to stop at the command of police — were dropped as part of the plea deal.
Sentencing is set for Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. before Judge Randall Skanchy.
Sharp was found dead in her home — her body beaten and bound — by firefighters responding to a police officer's report that smoke was coming from the residence, 20 E. Winchester St. (6500 South), in Murray.
Police were at Sharp's home investigating a suspicious incident involving the driver of a 1991 Buick LeSabre registered to Sharp, court papers say.
Charging documents say Spencer was driving Sharp's car when he was stopped in the early hours of Jan. 25 by a Utah Transit Authority officer for driving in a bus-only zone. Spencer fled the stop and UTA contacted Murray police.
Court papers say firefighters found the back door of Sharp's home had been partially pushed open and a window was broken. A Murray fire marshal also determined the blaze smoldering inside a bedroom closet had been intentionally set.
Police were able to identify Spencer as the man driving Sharp's car from security camera footage. They also found property missing from Sharp's home, including a sweatshirt with traces of Sharp's DNA inside the neck and on the right-hand sleeve, court papers say.
An autopsy report said Sharp died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Spencer was in jail even before Salt Lake County prosecutors charged him with Sharp's death. He was arrested Feb. 5 on a federal probation violation related to a 2005 drug and firearms charges, to which he entered a guilty plea.
Twitter: @jenniferdobner