Utah Man Pleads Guilty In Killings Of Ex-Girlfriend, Her Son
Aug 7, 2019, 1:54 PM | Updated: 9:29 pm
AMERICAN FORK, Utah – A 30-year-old Utah man faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty to the 2015 killings of his former girlfriend and her young son.
Officials from the Utah County Attorney’s Office said Christopher Poulson pleaded guilty Tuesday in Fourth District Court in American Fork to murder and other charges in the killings of 23-year-old Emily Almiron and her 3-year-old son, Gabriel.
Their bodies have not been recovered, but the County Attorney’s Office said in a statement that Poulson was cooperating with the search for their bodies.
”We’re going to keep working and we’re going to keep looking until we find them,” said Deputy Utah County Attorney Lance Bastian.
Murder victim’s mother to admitted killer:
“We want him to do what is necessary to obtain forgiveness and peace from God”
4 years after Emily Almiron & her son Gabriel went missing, their family is now hoping to find their bodies. FULL STORY 6pm @KSL5TV @kslnewsradio @KSLcom pic.twitter.com/qHvlBjqBPv
— Ladd Egan (@laddegan) August 7, 2019
As part of his unique plea bargain, Poulson agreed to help in the search for the mother and son’s remains. If that happens, prosecutors will ask a judge to allow him to plea to lesser charges, which may take a life sentence off of the table.
“He pled to murder and manslaughter,” Bastian said. “If nothing else happens to intervene between now and September 26, that is the plea on which he will be sentenced.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, Almiron’s mother shared a message for the Poulson family.
“Our hearts are broken for them,” Brenda Marsh expressed. “We extend our love.”
Marsh also spoke specifically about Poulson, saying that she holds no animosity towards him and has forgiven him.
“We want him to do what is necessary to obtain forgiveness and peace from God,” Marsh said.
Relatives of the victims reported them missing on September 12, 2015.
Poulson was extradited to Utah from Hawaii in 2017 after he was charged with the killings.
He was expected to be sentenced on September 26.
(The Associated Press and KSL TV contributed to this report.)
