Defense claims confession coerced in Box Elder murder

The Associated Press

Published September 6, 2009 1:01 pm

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2009, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Brigham City » Defense attorneys for a man charged in a 1984 murder case say a judge should toss out an alleged confession to the crime because it was coerced and is therefore unreliable.

Wade Maughan is one of two people charged with the murder of Bradley Newell Perry at a gas station on U.S. 89. A jury convicted Glen Howard Griffin of the crime last year.

DNA evidence from a blood-stained dollar bill linked both men to the crime in 2005.

In a statement to police, Maughan said Griffin threatened to kill him if he didn't help restrain Perry during the fatal attack.

In court papers filed last week, defense attorneys say Box Elder County sheriff's detectives used threats to elicit the statement. They also say detectives failed to read Maughan his rights.

A hearing is set for December.

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