A former football player may spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering his wife in Park City in 2017, a judge ruled Monday.
Anthony Darnel McClanahan, 47, was sentenced Monday to a term of 15 years to life by Summit County Third District Court Judge Patrick Corum. McClanahan pleaded guilty in March after a plea bargain to one count of murder, a first-degree felony, for killing his wife, 28-year-old Keri Colleen “KC” McClanahan, on Nov. 2, 2017.
Early that morning, a neighbor in the McClanahans’ condo complex called police to report that a man — who turned out to be McClanahan — was crawling on his stomach through the corridors.
In charging documents, investigators said a barefoot McClanahan flagged down a police sergeant. He then began convulsing and making “snow angel” motions with his arms, police wrote. McClanahan claimed his wife and “his baby” had been attacked by two or three men.
McClanahan wouldn’t give his wife’s name or location at the time, police wrote. Officers found no evidence that a baby or small child had been with McClanahan. Police did find KC McClanahan’s body in the couple’s condo.
Both McClanahans had cuts to their faces, consistent with a blade attached to a bracelet she had owned. A woman who had been speaking with Anthony McClanahan over the phone that night said she overheard the couple arguing.
In a letter to Corum filed with the court, McClanahan wrote, “I am very sorry for my actions at hand. All I can ask is for forgiveness for my crime from KC’s family.”
KC McClanahan’s sister, Heather Gauf, said Monday’s sentence won’t bring back her sister, FOX13 reported.
“Before she passed away her plan was to join the service and help people," Gauf said. “She had two amazing, beautiful children who loved her very much and she was an amazing mother.”
In a pending, unrelated case in Salt Lake County, McClanahan was charged with kidnapping their then-8-year-old son in October 2017 in Arizona and bringing him to Salt Lake City. According to FOX13, prosecutors will drop the kidnapping charge 30 days after Monday’s sentencing.
McClanahan was a linebacker who played three seasons, from 1991 to 1993, for Washington State University. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys and attended the team’s training camp in 1994, but never played in an NFL game. He played four seasons in the ’90s for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League.
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