This week, Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes announced that Ralph Leroy Menzies had exhausted all appeals in his 1988 capital punishment case. He will face a hearing within the next few weeks, where a judge is expected to sign a death warrant as the process progresses.
Menzies was convicted of the brutal murder of Maurine Hunsaker, a young mother of three who worked as a Kearns convenience store cashier. On February 23, 1986, Menzies kidnapped Hunsaker from her job and took her to Big Cottonwood Canyon. He kept her overnight in a picnic area near Storm Mountain. Her body was found two days later, tied to a tree with her throat slashed.
Over the years, her son has grown from a child to an adult who actively advocates for Menzies’ execution. Menzies has been on death row for 35 years.
