Utah Man Gets 16 Years-To-Life In Prison For Killing Woman And Her 3-Year-Old Son

PROVO, Utah — A Utah man who admitted to shooting and killing his girlfriend after fatally injuring her toddler at their Orem home has been ordered to spend at least 16 years and up to life in prison.

Fourth District Judge Robert Lunnen sentenced Christopher Poulson at the end of an emotional hearing Thursday, where several family members tearfully remembered Emily Quijano and her 3-year-old son Gabriel Almiron. Some called for a sentence of life without parole for Poulson, while Quijano’s mother, Brenda Marsh, said she forgives him.

BREAKING: Judge gives Poulson 15 years to life followed by another term of 1-15 years. Acknowledges Board of Parsons will ultimately decide if Poulson ever gets out.

— Sam Penrod (@KSLsampenrod) September 26, 2019

Poulson pleaded guilty last month to murder, a first-degree felony, and manslaughter, a second-degree felony. He agreed to help investigators find the mother and child, part of his agreement with prosecutors that allowed him to seek a prison term of no more than 30 years.

But Lunnen rejected that part of the deal earlier this month, saying it was difficult for him “to accept a 30-year limit on two very important lives.”

On Sept. 6, a volunteer searcher found the bodies of the mother and son in a shallow grave near Eureka in Juab County. The crew member spotted a tree he believed matched one described by Poulson and found the remains just below the surface.

Poulson admitted that in 2015 he fatally injured the boy and then panicked and shot Almiron as she slept before she could discover what had happened.

The judge sentenced Poulson to consecutive sentences of at least 15 years and up to life for the charge of murder and 1- to 15 years on the second-degree manslaughter charge.