PANKAJKARAN SINGH KATARIA

Sentencing hearing on June 25, 2012.

Officer Michelle Wright responded to a domestic violence call in Spanish Fork on October 31, 2008 where the victim was so badly beaten that Officer Wright thought she was wearing a Halloween mask. The defendant had pummeled the victim’s face, swelling her eye shut, splitting open her eyebrow, and breaking her nose in at least 5 places; bitten her hand, causing a laceration and crush injury; kneeled on her arms and held a crutch against her throat, strangling her; kicked her in the ribs; and stomped on her foot as she tried to stand up, causing a fracture dislocation that had to be surgically repaired with permanent screws. The defendant then fled the scene and was not apprehended until he was stopped at a truck stop in New Mexico nearly a year later. During a three-day jury trial May 9-11, the defendant testified that he had no memory of the incident due to his drinking that day. After approximately 4 ½ hours of deliberation, the jury rejected that defense and found him guilty of first degree felony aggravated kidnapping with serious bodily injury; second degree felony aggravated assault; and misdemeanor criminal mischief. The first degree felony count carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, which the State expects will be imposed at the defendant’s sentencing hearing on June 25, 2012.

Related Documents:

(NOTE: Some documents may be in the .pdf format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view pdf files. Most web browsers include the Reader plug-in. If you do not have the Reader, it is a free download from the Adobe web site.)

276849.jpg