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Posted: 5:51 PM- As Utah County authorities suspended a search for the remains of Kiplyn Davis on Friday, a judge postponed sentencing for a man who lied during an investigation into her 1995 disappearance.
A Utah County Attorney's Office statement said officials now question the validity of two tips that the girl was buried near Spanish Fork River Park, and will suspend search efforts that were launched six weeks ago.
In U.S. District Court Friday, Judge Tena Campbell said she wants to hear testimony from an FBI agent so she could determine whether David Rucker Leifson's perjury obstructed the investigation. The agent was out of town on a work assignment Friday.
If Campbell finds Leifson's lies are found to have hindered the investigation, he could get a maximum sentence of five years in prison. If the perjury did not obstruct the probe, the recommended sentence range would be much lower.
Defense attorney Ed Brass, who insists the falsehoods were not material to the case, is asking for probation.
As he left court, Leifson said the criminal case has been pending for three years and he just wants to get on with his life. Leifson pleaded guilty last fall to one count of perjury, admitting lying to a federal grand jury when questioned about a heated argument between himself and Timmy Brent Olsen, awaiting trial for Kiplyn's murder.
Olsen accused Leifson of being involved in Kiplyn's disappearance, but Leifson has never been charged in connection with Kiplyn's murder.
Kiplyn's father, Richard Davis, said Tuesday he believes Leifson had something to do with his daughter's disappearance.
"I think anyone who won't tell me where Kiplyn is deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison," Davis said.
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