South Jordan Man Charged With ‘Brutal’ Murder Of Sandy Woman
Jul 12, 2021, 3:57 PM | Updated: 5:10 pm
The body of 53-year-old Masako Kenley was found July 5. (Sandy Police)
(Sandy Police)
SANDY, Utah – New court documents showed that Masako Kenley, 53, from Sandy was shot and stabbed multiple times before her body was dumped near the Jordan River.
William O’Reilly, 75, appeared in Third District Court Monday where he was formally charged with murder, felony discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, both first degree felonies, and obstructing justice, a second degree felony.
Kenley left her home around 4 p.m. on July 2 to meet some coworkers for dinner in Layton, but she never made it.
Her family reported her missing on July 3 after her car was found in the parking lot of a Costco in Sandy.
Hundreds of volunteers began searching for Kenley, along with family members, on Independence Day, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Later that day, cadaver dogs found Kenley’s body in a heavily wooded area near 9000 South and 700 West.
An autopsy showed that she had been shot in the neck and chest and stabbed four times in the neck, the documents said.
“The Defendant claims he is a military veteran, and the way in which Masako (Kenley) was killed appears consistent with someone having military experience,” the document said.
Police arrested O’Reilly on the morning of July 5.
“Long before her body was found, William O’Reilly overdosed on sleeping pills after speaking to Detectives about Masako’s whereabouts,” read the court documents.
The document also said that O’Reilly told police he did not remember what happened.
O’Reilly did recount that he and Kenley had plans to go to dinner on July 2, but the dinner never happened.
He told police that they spent that afternoon together. The documents said police confirmed through cell phone records and surveillance video that they were together that afternoon.
O’Reilly told police he had earlier placed a GPS tracker on her van. The documents said he removed the tracker on July 2 after Kenley told “him they were done” and demanded he get rid of the device.
The court document said surveillance video showed that O’Reilly and Kenley left a business in Midvale at 4:05 p.m in her van. Cell phone records showed that her van was last reported in the heavily wooded area of 8900 S and 1000 W. The court document said Kenley’s van returned to the Midvale business at 5:02 p.m., but she was not in it.
If convicted, O’Reilly could spend the rest of his life in prison.
A GoFundMe* account has been established for the family here.
*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 advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
