Sixth person charged with murder in brutal Duchesne County beating

A sixth person has been arrested and charged in connection with the death of a 51-year-old woman who was brutally beaten in her home April 6.

Kristy Lee Whitchurch, 37, was arrested Tuesday after a witness came forward and told investigators she was directly involved in the assault that resulted in Sherry Lynn Melo’s death, according to a news release from Duchesne County. Charging documents show she was charged with murder, aggravated assault and aggravated burglary.

Five people had previously been arrested and charged in connection with the case in Utah’s 8th District Court — Thomas Neil Tuinman, 35; Stephanie Tuinman, 33; Michael Wallace Tuinman, 30; Samantha Tuinman, 30; and Byron Rashad Thompson, 29.

Thomas Tuinman, who is married to Samantha Tuinman, is Stephanie Tuinman’s brother. Michael Tuinman is Thomas and Stephanie Tuinman’s cousin, and Thompson is dating Stephanie Tuinman, according to the release.

After a large group attacked Melo and her husband at their home near Roosevelt, Melo made it to her neighbor’s house, who called police.

When officers arrived, they found her sitting on her neighbor’s porch, bleeding from her head, nose and mouth and screaming in pain. Melo said one of the attackers had hit her in the head with a bat, and medics later determined she “had bleeding on her brain.” Doctors later discovered that an artery or vein in her neck had slightly torn and caused a blood clot in her neck.

Melo was first taken to a local hospital and then flown by medical helicopter to a hospital in Provo, where she died April 22.

The husband, who court records identify as Richard Hoke, was reportedly beaten with pieces of wood and other objects. He was bleeding from his head, nose and mouth, had a gash on his knee and cuts and bruises all the way down his back.

Police have not yet released a motive for the attack.