Teens agree to plea deal in Moab murder case

Two Moab teens were transferred to juvenile court, where they pleaded guilty Monday in connection to the March shooting death of the boyfriend of one of the boy's mother.

Brody Blu Kruckenberg and Charles Anthony Nelson, both 17, had been charged as adults with one count each of first-degree felony murder and second-degree felony obstruction of justice in the slaying of 33-year-old Gregorio Salazar Campos.

But on Monday, 7th District Judge Lyle Anderson dismissed the charges in adult court and the boys pleaded guilty to lesser charges in juvenile court.

Kruckenberg allegedly persuaded his friend Nelson to shoot Campos, who was the boyfriend of Kruckenberg's mother, Corina Dawn Yardley. Kruckenberg pleaded guilty to manslaughter and obstruction of justice, both second-degree felonies; he was sentenced to juvenile detention until he turns 21.

Nelson pleaded guilty to second-degree felony obstruction of justice and is awaiting sentencing pending further evaluation, according to court documents.

An informant told sheriff's investigators that Nelson claimed that on March 25, Kruckenberg called him to his home, where Campos was sleeping, according to the probable cause statement.

The informant claimed Nelson told him that Kruckenberg said, "Let's kill him," but that Kruckenberg could not do the killing and asked Nelson to do it, according to the documents. Nelson then allegedly told the informant that he pointed the gun through a crack in the doorway of Yardley's bedroom and shot Campos three times, investigators wrote.

Campos' body was discovered April 7 in the Colorado River just north of Moab. Investigators have said Campos was shot three times in the head.

The teens were 16 when they were arrested in April. Both turned 17 in May.

Yardley earlier pleaded guilty to two reduced counts of class A misdemeanor obstruction of justice.

Investigators had alleged that Yardley cleaned blood from the wall and the carpet in the bedroom and helped the boys dispose of Campos' body by allowing them use her truck. She also had allegedly removed the mattresses and bedding from the bedroom and bought a new mattress shortly after March 25, according to information in another probable cause statement.

Campos' sister had contacted the Moab City Police Department on March 29 to report her brother was missing. That day, city police interviewed Yardley, who said she had last seen Campos earlier in the day on March 25 at her home, according to a Moab City Police report. Yardley told police that Campos was gone when she returned home from work and she had not seen him since.

Anderson sentenced Yardley to 90 days in the Grand County Jail, with credit for time served; she was released the same day.

Anderson also ordered Yardley to pay fines and fees totaling $1,016 and $250 in court-appointed attorney fees. He also ordered her to cooperate with law enforcement and to provide testimony, if requested, in any relevant court proceedings.