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William Dearing's small silver hoop earrings shook as he yelled at the man who killed his father.
With a booming voice at the front of a courtroom Tuesday afternoon, Dearing also threw his tattoo-covered arm in the direction of Gerardo Enrique Perez and called him "an evil man." Dearing trembled with anger while Perez sat in silence in a tan prison jumpsuit.
"I don't believe anything this piece of s—- says," Dearing added before a judge asked him to calm down.
Dearing, 44, also doesn't believe the excuse provided by attorneys for Perez: that the 20-year-old had an undiagnosed mental illness that caused him to have delusions fueling the attack. For Dearing, it just doesn't add up. He continues to question the seemingly unprompted attack on his 68-year-old father, Leslie Beus.
On Jan. 28, 2015, Beus was standing in the front yard of his Kearns home, near 5600 West and 4835 South, when Perez attacked him with a hammer and knife while making noises "like a zombie." Beus tried to escape by entering his home, charging documents state, but Perez followed him inside and continued to hit him.
Police later located Perez a few blocks south, where he told officers that he wiped blood from the weapons to avoid detection. He was "acting strangely," witnesses reported, while walking down the street.
Beus was put on life support after suffering numerous cuts to his head and arms, as well as several skull fractures. He died after a weeklong coma.
Perez, who chose not to speak at his sentencing Tuesday, pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated burglary, first-degree felonies, as well as aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, in October. Other charges, including obstructing justice and interference with an arresting officer, were dropped in a plea deal.
Third District Judge Randall Skanchy called the crime "an unspeakable act" and sentenced Perez to 15 years to life on the murder count, five to life on the burglary and up to five years on the assault. The first term will run consecutively to the lesser two, which will run concurrently.
Perez's attorney, Robin Ljungberg, said now that his client is on medication and receiving treatment, he is recovering. The mental illness had been unknown and caused Perez to have delusions and hear voices, according to a report filed to the court by a doctor who examined the 20-year-old in jail.
"It is absolutely tragic for the victims in this case that it had to come to light this way," Ljungberg said.
Prosecutor Blake Hills said, though mental illness warrants sensitivity and understanding, "This family was hurt to a degree nobody can imagine." The remorse and sorrow expressed by Perez during the case, he said, can't undo the damage.
Dearing left the courtroom upset Tuesday, pulling at his black button-up shirt and saying he was angry that Perez wasn't given a more stringent punishment. He had hoped Perez would get life in prison without the possibility of parole — what he believed was a more fitting sentence to repay his father's death.
Dearing also refused to accept Perez's apparent diagnosis, saying that Perez acted normally as soon as police questioned him.
"You don't go in and out of craziness," he said. "You're not crazy one minute and then not the next."
Twitter: @CourtneyLTanner