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A jury on Friday found a Draper man guilty of causing a fatal crash while driving drunk last year.
Following a week-long trial in 3rd District Court, jurors deliberated three hours before finding Bill Robert Thompson, 45, guilty of first-degree felony murder, as well as two counts of third-degree felony aggravated assault.
"We were disappointed and saddened by the verdict," defense attorney Rudy Bautista said. "We hoped the jury would understand that he was so severely intoxicated that day, he couldn't form the knowledge and intent that he was about to kill someone."
Bautista plans to appeal the conviction.
Prosecutors initially charged Thompson with murder and 14 other felony and misdemeanor counts for the May 8, 2014, death of Susan Madsen in collision at the intersection of 12300 South and Lone Peak Parkway.
On the first day of trial, Thompson entered guilty pleas to 11 of the counts: one count of third-degree felony driving under the influence of alcohol, seven misdemeanor DUI counts, and two counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of misdemeanor domestic violence in the presence of a child.
In entering the DUI pleas, Thompson acknowledged driving negligently and under the influence of alcohol — with a blood alcohol content level of 0.22, well over the legal limit of 0.08.
The assault charges are tied to a fight Thompson had about 30 minutes before the crash with a woman who was living in his Draper home. A judge in January dismissed yet another count of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
Thompson faces a prison term of up to life when he is sentenced Aug. 5 by Judge L. Douglas Hogan.
Bautista contended during his opening statement on Tuesday that Thompson's "criminal mistakes" amount to a lesser count of automobile homicide, not first-degree felony murder.
"Bill is here to be held accountable," Bautista told the jury. "The state wants you to find him guilty of murder … but it's about making sure he's held accountable for the crimes he's actually committed."
Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Peter Leavitt countered that while it is true that Thompson hadn't previously threatened Madsen or planned her death, his actions met the legal standard for murder, including "conduct" that evidenced a "grave indifference" to human life.
Prosecutors said Thompson accelerated through a red light at the intersection and slammed into an SUV driven by Madsen, also of Draper.
Leavitt said Thompson's 7,500 pound pickup truck hit Madsen's 4,000 pound SUV with such force that the 43-year-old mother's brain stem was severed, causing a nearly instant death.
The collision also critically injured Madsen's then-13-year-old daughter and caused a chain of other smaller accidents that left seven other motorists with minor injuries.
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