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West Jordan • A Draper man charged with murder for a fatal DUI accident crash last year should held accountable for his crime, but not convicted of murder, a defense attorney told a jury on Tuesday.
"Bill is here to be held accountable," attorney Rudy Bautista said. "The state wants you to find him guilty of murder … but it's about making sure he's held accountable for the crimes he's actually committed.
Bautista contends Bill Robert Thompson's "criminal mistakes" amount to a lesser count of automobile homicide, not first-degree felony murder.
Prosecutors charged Thompson, 45, with murder and 14 other felony and misdemeanor counts for the May 8, 2014, death of Susan Madsen in collision at the intersection of 12300 South and Lone Peak Parkway.
In opening remarks to a 3rd District Court jury Tuesday, Deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Peter Leavitt said that it is true that Thompson hadn't previously threatened Madsen or planned her death, but that his actions met the legal standard for murder, including "conduct" that evidenced a "grave indifference" to human life.
"It's a tragedy that never should have happened," Leavitt said, before pointing at Thompson. "A tragedy that came about through his actions and his actions only."
Leavitt said the impact of the collision between Thompson's 7,500 pound truck and Madsen's 4,000 pound SUV had such force that the 43-year-old mother's brain stem was severed, causing a nearly instant death.
In addition, Leavitt said, nearly all of her ribs were fractured, her lungs were punctured and her aorta ripped in two.
"Any one of the injuries alone could have been fatal," Leavitt said.
Bautista said Thompson won't challenge most of the evidence jurors will hear during the week-long trial, nor does he dispute that Thompson is guilty of making a tragic mistake.
Thompson, his attorney said, had long suffered from severe anxiety, depression and other mental health problems and, at the time of the crash, was coping by self-medicating with alcohol because he had run out of prescription drugs.
"He turned to alcohol to help and made stupid, tragic mistakes, " Bautista said. "He didn't want to kill anyone that day, he certainly didn't want to murder anyone."
As proof of Thompson's willingness to be held accountable, Bautista told jurors that on Tuesday morning — minutes before the trial began — he had pleaded guilty to most of the charges prosecutors had filed.
Thompson entered guilty pleas to one count of third-degree felony driving under the influence of alcohol; seven misdemeanor DUI counts; and two counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of misdemeanor domestic violence in the presence of a child.
In entering the DUI pleas, Thompson acknowledged driving negligently and under the influence of alcohol — with a blood alcohol content level of 0.22, well over the legal limit of .08 — causing injuries to seven people.
Thompson was emotional and hesitated before entering a guilty plea to domestic violence in front of his own child.
A judge in January dismissed yet another count of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
That leaves jurors with one count of first-degree felony murder and two counts of third-degree felony aggravated assault to decide. The assault charges are tied to a fight Thompson had about 30 minutes before the crash with a woman who was living in his Draper home.
If he is convicted of the murder charge, Thompson could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Court papers allege Thompson was drunk behind the wheel of his pickup truck when he sped through a red light at the intersection of Lone Peak Parkway and 12300 South and slammed into the SUV driven by Madsen, also of Draper, according to charges.
The 6:30 p.m. collision killed Madsen, critically injured her 16-year-old daughter and caused a chain of other smaller accidents that left seven other motorists with minor injuries.
On Tuesday, Leavitt said Thompson was traveling about 62 mph in a 35 mph zone at the time of the crash and that he hit the gas pedal to accelerate the car, not slow it down, as he reached the intersection.
"He had his foot to the floor and he kept it there, right up to the crash," Leavitt said.
Court papers say Thompson was found in his pickup after the crash. His speech was slurred. Officers who went to the hospital to talk to Thompson reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol and said Thompson's eyes were bloodshot.
Court documents also say a 911 caller reported a fight and assault at Thompson's Draper home about 30 minutes before the crash. The caller, a woman who lived downstairs in the same residence, said Thompson was arguing with another woman in front of a 3-year-old child. The caller said she was struck multiple times in the face by Thompson after she tried to remove the child from the room.
A male neighbor who also tried to intervene in the altercation was also hit by Thompson, court papers say. Thompson sped away from the neighborhood after the fight and witnesses told police he had been intoxicated for several days, according to the documents.