Victim in alleged kidnapping tied to St. George ‘serial abuser,’ says she’ll testify against him

Sep 25, 2024, 1:28 PM | Updated: 2:50 pm

David Gene Remley in a booking photo. This photo was distributed when Brittany Deal and her three children went missing on Aug. 20. They were found with Remley, and he was later accused of kidnapping them among other charges. (St. George Police Department)

(St. George Police Department)

BY MARY CULBERTSON

KSLTV.com

ST. GEORGE — A St. George woman who was allegedly kidnapped along with her three children is preparing to do something other victims haven’t: face her alleged abuser in court.

Brittany Deal and her three young children went missing from St. George on Aug. 20. After hours of police searching, they were located with a man accused of forcefully taking them. Just over a month later, Deal is thankful for her safety, but her nightmare isn’t over yet.

Her alleged kidnapper, David Gene Remley, 36, was tied to multiple other cases involving assault, domestic violence and violation of protective orders that involved four different victims, according to Washington County attorney Rick Erickson. Erickson said it wasn’t so simple to prosecute those cases, and Remley went free for many of them.

A five-month history

According to court documents, it wasn’t the first time Remley had been accused of hurting her. Days before she disappeared, Deal had been hospitalized after he head-butted her and caused her to lose consciousness, court documents say, despite an active protective order she had against him. He was charged days later with six felony counts connected to the incident.

Police interviewed Deal on Aug. 22, after she was safely taken home. She told officers they had been dating for approximately five months and that he’d been controlling from the start. She said he made jokes that if she ever left, he would “kill her and bury her in the desert.”

Deal said the day he abducted her and her kids, Remley first took her to a St. George hotel room and assaulted her. He later picked up her children from daycare and began driving with the four of them in tow.

Deal told police she became afraid when Remley told them later “not to worry because they would all be going to heaven soon,” court documents stated. Deal said that Remley told her that he was taking them to Oregon “off the grid.”

Deal and her children were found with Remley in Nevada. Remley was booked into custody and was extricated back to Utah on Sept. 11.

After St. George police collected evidence and sought a warrant, Remley was charged with three counts of child kidnapping, first-degree felonies; aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony; unauthorized possession of a firearm or operable motor vehicle, a third-degree felony; and assault, a class B misdemeanor.

St. George fugitive is ‘serial abuser’ whose cases keep getting dismissed, prosecutor says

Deal’s next move

In the aftermath of Deal’s disappearance, a Washington County prosecutor, Rick Erickson, told KSL TV he was familiar with Remley and had worked cases dealing with him over the past three years. Erickson described Remley as “a serial abuser.”

Erickson said multiple cases against Remley were dismissed because the victims in many of those past cases did not appear in court.

After some time recuperating, Deal told police she has nerves but is willing to testify against Remley to do what it takes to keep him from hurting her, her children “or any other woman.”

“I am going to testify against him,” she said. “I don’t want him ever hurting me or my kids again, or any other woman. And I hope that one day I can help other women that have been in these situations (to) reach out before it’s too late!”

According to court documents, Deal said she has been in therapy, at appointments for her physical injuries, and has been working on repairs to the car she said Remley abducted them in.

“I have had to spend money on repairs but it’s still not fully repaired because I just can’t afford it,” she said.

A GoFundMe* was set up to help Deal and her children during the court process as she continues to get back up on her feet.

The court has not yet acknowledged what judicial process will take place in Remley’s case but has assigned him an attorney. He awaits a preliminary hearing in 5th District Court on Wednesday.

Contributing: Lauren Steinbrecher, KSL TV, and Pat Reavy, KSL.com

*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.