Arrest made in 1972 murder case
Nov 26, 2024, 2:00 PM | Updated: 2:29 pm
FILE - The Uintah County Sheriff's Office arrested a man in connection with a 1972 murder. (Uintah County Sheriff's Office)
(Uintah County Sheriff's Office)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Uintah County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man in Salt Lake City on Tuesday on suspicion of murdering another man over 50 years ago.
The sheriff’s office said it arrested 74-year-old Darrel Eugene “Gene” Choate for the murder of Gregory Nickell.
Choate is charged with murdering Nickell exactly 52 years ago, on Nov. 26, 1972.
He was arrested at a hospital in Salt Lake City and is being held in the Uintah County Jail in Vernal, Utah.
1972 murder and attack
According to court documents, Nickell and an unnamed 18-year-old woman were parked at a rest stop on Highway 40 when a man approached the car.
The woman told police that the man took out a revolver and began shooting into the car, hitting Nickell.
The man then took over the car and drove them to another area. Another car, driven by a second man, drove along with them on the highway. They arrived at what is now known as Brough Reservoir.
Court documents said that the men then set the stolen car on fire with Nickell’s body inside.
The men took the 18-year-old woman with them from there and kept her captive for several hours. She reported that both men raped her while she was in captivity.
Eventually, the men let the 18-year-old out near Duchesne.
The woman told police that the men discussed several things about their lives while she was held captive.
Identifying suspects
In 2019, police matched DNA in the case to a man named Daniel Bell. Bell had been convicted of rape in Oregon in 1987.
Bell was already dead by the time police matched his DNA to the case.
Using details provided by the victim, information from Bell’s wife, and DNA evidence, police eventually identified Choate as a second suspect in the 1972 murder.
Seeking more information
The Uintah County Sheriff’s Office asked that anyone with information about Choate contact them.
“If you have information about people he may have confided in or remember conversations where he shared even the most minor details, your information could be crucial to the prosecution,” the sheriff’s office said in a post.
