The manhunt for a couple suspected in a violent carjacking linked to a double murder in Mount Pleasant swept from central Utah to the Nevada desert Monday with federal marshals, scores of police agencies and air patrols employed in the chase.
Back in sleepy Mount Pleasant, residents remain gripped by fear and disbelief after a couple who worked in the LDS Temple in Manti were discovered on New Year’s Eve gunned down in their own home.
—
Utah slayings total slightly higher in 2011
The grisly discovery on New Year’s eve of the double killing in Mount Pleasant brought the total number of homicides in 2011 to 53 — a slight uptick from previous years’ totals. View an interactive map of homicide locations at http://tinyurl.com/88e7lo6
 |
Join the Discussion |
 |
Post a Comment |
"It’s just devastating," said neighbor Coleen Oltrogge, who described the victims — Leroy and Dorotha Fullwood, 70 and 69 — as wonderful people "who seemed young in their thoughts and actions."
"For all of us who are retired — it could have been anybody," added Oltrogge, who also serves on the City Council. "We have such a neat, loving town. You just can’t expect something like that to happen."
Police say there is no evidence the two killers are in Utah and that the Fullwood home — backed against sagebrush and mountains on the east edge of town — seemed to be a random target.
The pursuit is focused outside West Wendover, where police say an early carjacking Saturday in a casino parking lot escalated after the attackers shot a 35-year-old West Wendover woman in the head as she tried to escape. The woman, who is in a Salt Lake City hospital, was upgraded from critical condition Monday and is expected to make a full recovery, according to West Wendover police Sgt. David Wiskerchen.
Police found the car abandoned in Wells, Nev., where the couple allegedly stole a Volkswagen Jetta, then eluded troopers using dirt roads. A credit card receipt that belonged to the Fullwoods which was found in the first car brought police to the Mount Pleasant home at 399 S. 600 East.
"It is kind of on the outskirts of town and probably just an opportunity that came up," said Mount Pleasant Police Chief Jim Wilberg. "No real reason that they chose that home."
Wilberg says the quiet community’s first murder in four years has rattled residents. "It’s unsettling," he said, noting no details of the crime will be released until the investigation is wrapped. "We’re getting a lot of calls now that people are hearing a noise in their house. People are nervous here."
One resident, who has lived in the town of 3,200 for 45 years, was too fearful to give her name.
"People are in shock," she said, "and wondering who would do something like that."
The woman said the couple have three adult children, including a daughter who lives in Mount Pleasant. "She’s in shock," the woman said. "In a small area like this, you just never expect it."
Contacted Monday, many neighbors declined to talk about the double murder.
Oltrogge says she and her husband thought they heard a gunshot in the area about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
"There’s so many deer here," she said, "you just think it’s somebody shooting."
She noted the Fullwoods regularly left their garage door open, but given the "trusting" town, that didn’t seem unusual.
"They were pretty tough people," Oltrogge said. "I can’t imagine either one of them just sitting there letting people do anything."
Next Page >Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
