Ted Bundy prosecutor who put away other notorious Utah criminals dies at 85

David Yocom, who served four terms as Salt Lake County’s district attorney during a legal career that included prosecuting such high-profile criminals as Ted Bundy, has died.

Yocom’s death was announced Monday by his friend and colleague, current Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. A spokesperson for Gill’s office said Yocom died Friday, at age 85. The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office did not announce a cause of death.

“It was an honor to work with David as the district attorney,” Gill said in a statement. “He not only inspired me as a young prosecutor but served as an example and mentor for me and hundreds of Salt Lake County deputy district attorneys over his long tenure in office.”

Gill continued: “David spoke his mind, never shied away from tough cases and made a positive difference in this community.”

Yocom’s law career spanned more than 40 years, including four terms as Salt Lake County’s D.A. — and, before that, crossing paths with some of the most notorious names in Utah’s history.

Yocom was born Sept. 5, 1938, in Salt Lake City to Frank M. and Nona Davie Yocom, an obituary written by his family said. He attended Granite High School, where he played football and baseball, and then Dixie College (now Utah Tech University), where he played baseball with his older brother, Ray, the obituary stated.

He earned his law degree from the University of Utah in 1965, a release from the D.A.’s office said. After a few years in private practice, he was invited in the early 1970s to work as a part-time deputy district attorney.

One of Yocom’s most infamous early cases was that of Ted Bundy, who was not yet known as a serial killer in October 1975, when he was arrested in a West Valley City neighborhood almost a year after a 17-year-old Utah girl told police he tried to abduct her.

At the time, Bundy was described in The Daily Herald as a second-year law student and part-time custodian at the University of Utah, and only suspected in the killings and disappearances of several women in Washington state.

But Carol DaRonch said that after Bundy — posing as a police officer — lured her into his tan Volkswagen outside Fashion Place Mall, he threatened her with a crowbar and a gun, saying, “I’ll blow your head off.”

Yocom, then an assistant district attorney, prosecuted Bundy when the case went to trial in 1976.

“Ted presented himself as a clean-cut, boy-next-door type,” Yocom said on the Netflix series “Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.” “He had a following in the courtroom, which gave him a lot of confidence.”

At one point, the defense attorney said Bundy would not have used his right hand to hold a crowbar and threaten DaRonch, because Bundy was left-handed. Yocom sat in his own chair in the middle of the courtroom to simulate how the abductor could have done it, according to a Salt Lake Tribune article.

On the last day of the five-day trial, Yocom told the court that Bundy fit all facets of DaRonch’s attempted abduction. And he pushed back against the defense’s claim that she had been “persuaded” to identify Bundy as her attacker, The Tribune reported.

“She had plenty of time to see his face and reason to remember him,” Yocom said.

In his final statement to the court, Yocom said, “I feel the evidence has shown beyond a reasonable doubt that Theodore Robert Bundy is guilty.”

The judge agreed, finding Bundy guilty of aggravated kidnapping. The judge sentenced Bundy to 1-to-15 years in the Utah State Prison. It was the first time Bundy had been convicted and sent to prison, according to the D.A.’s office.

Bundy was later extradited to face charges in Colorado; he escaped from jail there and continued his crimes. He was convicted in 1980 for the 1978 murder of a 12-year-old girl in Florida, and was executed there in 1989. Before his death, Bundy confessed to 30 murders.

Yocom returned to private practice in 1977, but in 1978, he made an enemy in another killer, polygamist Ervil LeBaron. Yocom acted as special prosecutor when LeBaron was put on trial in the death of a rival polygamist leader, Rulon Allred.

“He was a darn good prosecutor — the best in the state when he was doing it,” said deputy district attorney Robert Stott, who retired in 2016. “The guy was fearless. He didn’t back down from anybody, not even judges.”

After LeBaron’s conviction, Yocom again returned to private practice and helped defend serial killer and white supremacist Joseph Paul Franklin, who was convicted of murder in 1981 for shooting two Black joggers in Liberty Park and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Yocom was first elected as Salt Lake County district attorney in 1986, according to the release from the D.A.’s office. He was re-elected in 1990, then lost another re-election bid in 1994. He came back to serve two more terms, from 1998 to 2006.

Throughout his career, Yocom oversaw hundreds of notable criminal cases, including forger and bomber Mark Hofmann and Mark Hacking, who was convicted for the 2004 murder of his wife, Lori.

When he retired in 2006, Yocom told The Tribune: “It’s been the best job of my life. It’s been a wonderful job. I’ve never wanted anything more than to be the D.A.”

Another piece of Yocom’s legacy can be seen every time Salt Lakers drive west on 500 South: the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office itself.

In 1986, Yocom and attorneys were working out of a building across the street from the old courthouse on 400 South that he said was “rat-infested” and “insect-infested.” He envisioned one building that was owned by the county and could hold the entire county attorney’s office.

That idea was finally made a reality in 2018, when the new district attorney’s office was finished, and Yocom spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The building includes a day care facility for employees and civilians who use the building, a small gym, counseling spaces for trauma victims and other amenities.

When Yocom wasn’t working, he “loved spending time boating on Flaming Gorge and Lake Powell, fishing and watching his boys water ski,” his family-written obituary stated.

Yocom is survived by his wife of 52 years, Linda; four sons, eight grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren, the family obituary stated. A celebration of David’s life will be held at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 S. 900 East, Salt Lake City, on Friday, Feb. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. The family is asking people, in lieu of flowers, to donate to the Children’s Justice Center of Salt Lake County — or to plant a tree.

Clarification • Jan. 23, 3:07 p.m.: This story has been updated to better reflect the cases that David Yocom prosecuted.