Christopher Young -child abuse/att. murder- Pled Out 1/2/07
Man is arrested after taking kids By Jessie Elder Deseret Morning News LEHI — Police arrested a man Tuesday night after they say he took his three children from their home in Provo and threatened to kill them. State law enforcement officials issued an Amber Alert for the young children around 8:30 p.m. The alert was canceled a few minutes later after police took the 35-year-old Lehi man into custody near Point of the Mountain. Christopher W. Young and his wife Adella have been separated for three weeks and are just beginning to undergo a divorce, according to the Amber Alert. Adella Young said her husband told her he was going to take their children to the park but instead he packed his children — a 6-year-old boy, 4-year-old girl and a 20-month girl — into his green 2005 Chevrolet and drove north on I-15. Adella Young told KSL News her husband's plan was to drive them off the cliff. She said he told her if he couldn't have the kids, neither could she, and if she wanted to see them again she would just have to wait until she was in heaven. Adella Young said she immediately called the police who were able to get Christopher Young on the phone and talked to him for two hours, dissuading him from harming his kids while trying to determine where he had taken them. Christopher Young reportedly told police he would let his wife talk to the kids, and in an emotional conversation, they said what might have been their final goodbyes. The 6-year-old boy told his mother they were on a hill with a lot of grass and cars. Young, however refused to tell his wife where he had taken the kids. "He said we would know where he was when we read about it in the papers," Adella Young said during an interview with KSL. After detaining Young, police took him to the hospital possibly to check mental stability, Adella Young said. The kids were returned unharmed to their mother. "The two older ones know what happened, they realize Daddy almost took them to heaven and they know something's not right," Adella Young said. According to the Amber Alert, the man has a history of violence, child abuse and suicide attempts. Police said they believed he wanted to hurt himself and the children. They said the children were in danger. The 4-year-old daughter has a kidney disorder that requires her to take a specific medication every three days. Missing her medication could be fatal, the alert said. Utah's last Amber Alert ended with children found safe following an abduction by a noncustodial parent. Box Elder County authorities called for the alert Dec. 30 after two boys, ages 12 and 7, were allegedly taken from their custodial grandmother's house. A day later, they were found in Ivins, Washington County, with their mother who police reported as having a history of mental instability. Contributing: Laura Hancock E-mail: jelder@desnews.com http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635200906,00.html

Saturday, April 29, 2006 Father is charged in cliff threat By Sara Israelsen Deseret Morning News PROVO — Attempted-homicide charges were filed Friday against a Provo man who is accused of threatening to drive his car off a cliff at Point of the Mountain — with his three children also in the car. Christopher Wayne Young, 35, was charged in 4th District Court with three counts of attempted criminal homicide-aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and three counts of child abuse, a second-degree felony. "We charged (Young) with child abuse for causing severe emotional harm," said deputy Utah County Attorney Donna Kelly. "This kind of trauma with children will have long-term effects." On April 18, Young took the children from their mother, Adella Young, for what was supposed to be an hourlong trip to the park, Kelly said. Soon after leaving, Kelly said, Young reportedly called his estranged wife and told her she would not see the children again. He threatened to hurt himself and them, according to Kelly and police reports filed with the Provo court. The children also later told officers that their dad threatened to drive off a cliff and take them to heaven to meet Jesus, according to the police report. Adella Young called the police, and Christopher Young was located within 3 minutes after an Amber Alert was issued. The car was sitting about 30 feet from the edge of a cliff in Lehi, and Young was revving its motor, when Lehi police officer Alma Owens drove his squad car in front of the car to prevent him from driving off the cliff, Kelly said. "(Owens) really did save those kids from going off," she said. The children, ages 6, 4 and 20 months old, were reunited with their mother. Young told police he had been depressed for years, according to the police report. When Young appeared before Judge Claudia Laycock Friday morning, he said he was the financial provider for his three children. Laycock ruled that Young can be appointed a public defender. Young is still being held without bail at the request of police, who believe he would be a danger to his children if released, according to the report. He will next appear in court May 4 at 8:30 a.m. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635203382,00.html

Tuesday, August 29, 2006 Father to stand trial in Amber Alert case By Sara Israelsen Deseret Morning News PROVO — A man who took his children to a cliff near Point of the Mountain and told them they were "going to see Jesus" will stand trial on three counts of attempted aggravated murder. Christopher Wayne Young, 36, will face the three first-degree charges for each of his three children, as well as three second-degree felonies of child abuse, 4th District Court Judge Steven Hansen ruled after a preliminary hearing Monday morning. On April 18, Young took his three young children, ages 6, 4 and 20 months, from their mother Adella Young, telling her they were going to the park for an hour. But 10 minutes before they were supposed to be home, Christopher Young called his estranged wife to say they weren't coming back and that if he couldn't have the kids, neither could she. She testified Monday he told her, "Let's just put it this way — the next time you see the kids it will be in heaven." Adella Young panicked and called her sister-in-law who called police. A few hours later — after a police attempt-to-locate, a short Amber Alert, and GPS tracking of Christopher Young's cell phone — police found Young and the children on a flat area up a cliff on the Lehi side of the Point of the Mountain. But none of these facts is strong enough to merit the first-degree felony charges, said Young's attorney Richard Gale. "He's guilty of doing harm to the children, but not guilty of attempted aggravated murder," Gale said. Young never tried to drive off the cliff, Gale said. The car was 30 feet from the edge of a cliff that was actually two smaller drop-offs, and he handed over the car keys when police arrived. However, Deputy Utah County Attorney Donna Kelly argued that driving off I-15, crashing through a barbed wire fence and driving up part of a mountain was not an accident. "Mr. Young clearly did believe that his conduct would result in their death, because that's what he told (the kids) over and over," Kelly said. "Jesus wasn't at the point of the mountain. Mr. Young told them they were going to die that night and he believed it." Lehi police officer Alma Owens found Young and the three children near the side of a cliff and parked his car in front of Young's SUV to act as a barrier. The kids were returned — scared but safe — to their mother that night. Gale also said his client was emotionally and mentally disturbed because of his crumbling marriage and was trying to get back at his estranged wife — not hurt the children. A competency review found Young mentally competent to proceed with the case. Provo Police Det. Dan Dove interviewed Young the night of the incident and said the man told him he had suicidal thoughts — some of which involved the children and driving off the cliff. Dove said Young told him he had the suicidal thoughts until his 6-year-old son hugged him and said "he wanted to go with him to see Jesus." After that, Young "snapped out of it and realized what he was doing." "He also told you that he never would have carried it out, and he would have let the children out of the car, didn't he?" Gale asked. "He did say that, yes." Dove responded. Young will enter a plea today at 1:30 p.m. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645196944,00.html

Saturday, November 11, 2006 Father's Provo trial ends with hung jury By Sara Israelsen Deseret Morning News PROVO — Jurors deciding the fate of a man charged with trying to kill his children announced they cannot agree on a verdict. Christopher Young The jury listened for two days to witnesses in 4th District Court who testified about Christopher Young, 36, and his drive on April 18 that ended on a small cliff in Lehi. Testimony focused on whether Young really intended to kill the youngsters or if, in a distraught state, he just "made mistakes." It was noted during the trial that while driving, Young told his three young children, ages 6, 4 and 2, that they were all going "to see Jesus" and wouldn't see their mother, with whom he had been fighting, again. The jury began deliberating just after 8 p.m. Thursday night but came back around 3 a.m. Friday to tell Judge Steven Hansen they couldn't reach a verdict. The trial can be rescheduled, but no date has yet been set, said Paul Vance, trial court executive for 4th District Court. As with any criminal case, the jury had to agree unanimously to find Young guilty or innocent of three counts of attempted aggravated mur- der and three counts of child abuse. They could also have come to a verdict on just some of the charges. During the trial, Young testified that he dropped his cell phone and accidentally drove off the freeway when he tried to get it. He said he hadn't been paying much attention to driving because he was so emotionally distraught. His wife had told him earlier that day that she didn't love him anymore and wanted a divorce. Young then drove to the top of a small cliff. Police later found him through GPS tracking on his cell phone as Young talked with police officers and his wife. "You thought if you went off that (cliff's) incline ... that you would die at the bottom with your children?" Deputy Utah County Attorney Donna Kelly asked Young on the stand. "Yes," Young said. He later said, "Maybe we'd get hurt, probably die, who knows what. I can't give you an exact thing." During closing arguments, Kelly asked the jury to consider Young's actions as a whole. "There is nothing worse you could do to children than tell them you're going to kill them, while you're taking steps to do it," Kelly said. "Just because he didn't take the final step doesn't mean this is not a crime." However, defense attorney Richard Gale told the jury to look at Young's actions as bad decisions, not murderous intentions. "If he had intended to kill anybody, he would have done it the first time he went off the freeway," Gale said "Sometimes we go through things that make us say and do things (we don't mean.) Chris did some things he wishes he hadn't done. He regrets it. But he's not a murderer. He abused his children and it was wrong, but he's not a murderer." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650206154,00.html

Dad strikes plea in cliff drive-off case By Julie Espinosa Special to The Tribune Article Last Updated:11/15/2006 12:57:20 AM MST PROVO - The Utah County man who tried to drive off a cliff with his kids pleaded guilty Tuesday to three second-degree felony child-abuse charges in exchange for prosecutors' dropping three first-degree felony counts of attempted murder. The plea agreement followed a jury trial last week that ended in a mistrial after jurors announced they could not reach a verdict on the six charges. During the trial, witnesses had testified about the day in April when Christopher Wayne Young, 36, allegedly took his children - ages 6, 4 and 18 months - to the edge of a cliff, telling them they were going to die together. Prosecutor Donna Kelly said she will probably seek prison time for Young when he is sentenced Jan. 2 before 4th District Judge Steven Hansen. Each count of child abuse carries a possible term of one to 15 years, and the sentences could run consecutively. Kelly said Young's children need to feel safe and have "some time to heal." Defense attorney Richard Gale said Young doesn't deserve a prison sentence because he has largely gotten over the depression that led him to commit the crimes. "He was obviously distraught and depressed because of the divorce ," said Gale. "I don't think there's a danger he'd ever do that again." Young's ex-wife has agreed with the resolution of the case, Kelly said. Members of Young's family in attendance declined to comment on the plea deal, saying only that they hoped his prison sentence wouldn't be too long. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_4661378