The death of one Utah teenager and the shocking involvement of another in her suicide is the focus of Saturday’s edition of the CBS newsmagazine “48 Hours.”
In the episode, titled “A Death in Payson Canyon,” correspondent David Begnaud recounts the events of May 5, 2017, when the body of Jchandra Brown, a Spanish Fork 16-year-old, was found hanging from a tree. But what was at first thought to be a suicide turned into a first-degree murder charge against 18-year-old Tyerell Przybycien, who admitted to police that he helped Brown kill herself.
“This was criminal behavior,” deputy Utah County attorney Chad Grunander says in the program, which airs Saturday at 9 p.m. on CBS/Channel 2. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Jchandra does not die on May 5, 2017, if she had never met Tyerell.”
The facts are familiar to many Utahns. In October 2018, Przybycien pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of child abuse homicide, and was sentenced to 5 years-to-life in prison.
Courtesy photo Jchandra Brown
But some of the details on “48 Hours” (Saturday, 9 p.m., CBS/Channel 2) are shocking. And chilling.
There's police interrogation video of Przybycien saying, “I know that I look guilty now 'cause I bought everything for her. … I feel guilty. I feel like I did murder her. That's what it is. … That was my plan.”
There’s surveillance video of him buying the rope Brown used. He admits he tied the noose around the tree, then used a cell phone to take video of her death.
Viewers aren't shown any of that video, but Utah County Sheriff’s Detective Quinten Fackrell describes his reaction when he viewed it.
“I was shocked," he said, “that somebody could sit by and let somebody lose their life and not do anything.”
Przybycien tells police he “waited 10 minutes and checked her pulse … I just got out of there. I was scared out of my mind.”
Prosecutors were prepared to tell a different story before Przybycien accepted a plea deal. There are letters and phone calls from jail in which he bragged about Brown's death; said he wanted to get a tattoo of a noose; said he returned to the scene to collect the noose as a “souvenir” or “trophy.”
Viewers see some of the hundreds of texts about suicide that Przybycien and Brown exchanged in the weeks leading up to her death. One of those texts: “Can I mutilate your body and cut your head off and dispose of your body?”
And viewers see a text Przybycien sent a friend indicating he wouldn’t try to talk someone out of suicide: “It’s like getting away with murder.”
His lawyer, Neil Skousen, was prepared to argue that, “In his mind, I don’t think that he was committing murder. He was helping her do what she wanted to do.” But, facing an additional charge of witness tampering — Przybycien wrote to friends, urging them not to cooperate with police — he changed his plea.
The “48 Hours” report also goes into ways to spot troubled teens and prevent suicides, and outlines how Brown's death led to a change in Utah law to include suicide in the manslaughter statute.
People who have suicidal thoughts can call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or visit the Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition’s website for help. A smartphone application called SafeUT also allows users to chat or call a crisis counselor and submit tips.
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