A man arrested on a charge of stabbing his father to death was arraigned on a murder charge Monday, a first-degree felony, by video before 1st District Court Judge Angela Fonnesbeck.
Clayton Robert Shaw, 33, is accused of killing his father, Dennis Shaw, 77, whose body was found Friday in a snowmobile parking lot at Franklin Basin, according to a probable cause affidavit. Investigators suspect that Dennis Shaw was murdered somewhere else and his body was dumped in the parking lot at Franklin Basin, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit subsequently said Clayton Shaw was served an eviction notice last July, served by the Cache County Sheriff's Office, on behalf of his father or his trust. It was also noted in the affidavit that Dennis Shaw made a report of domestic violence at his son's hand to authorities. On Sept. 15, a female roommate of Clayton Shaw called Logan police and said she was scared of Clayton, and wanted to explore her options in dealing with Clayton. According to the affidavit, Clayton is known to have suffered from paranoia and was known to carry a gun.
The affidavit also said that on Sept. 6, Clayton reported to police that he located human remains and dried up skin on his property. The responding officer wrote in his report that the alleged dried skin was actually tree bark and no other remains were found.
The affidavit also said Logan police received a report on July 17, from Dennis Shaw that Clayton showed up at his residence and was having a mental crisis, took his father's phone and indicated he was trying to find a way to kill his father.
On Sept. 26, police conducted an interview with an employee of Dennis Shaw. The employee, who was not identified, said he hadn't heard from Dennis since 3:53 p.m. that day, and was worried about him. The employee reported to Logan police that Clayton fashioned a hatchet and was threatening to kill his father, the affidavit said. His employees also said Dennis is never without his dog and would never allow anyone to take the dog.
A search warrant was obtained to ping Dennis Shaw's cellphone, and it showed the phone was last pinged on Sept. 26. Calls placed to the phone went to voicemail.
As detectives continued their investigation, they watched the victim's home on Sumac Drive in Logan while they sought a search warrant for the home. The report said Clayton showed up at Dennis Shaw's home, at 3:10 p.m. on Sept. 27, and he was observed knocking on the door and then got back into his vehicle. Detectives then initiated a high-risk traffic stop, and Clayton was arrested. During a search of Clayton's car authorities allegedly found a fixed-blade, double-edged knife. The blade was preliminarily consistent with the victim's wounds when his body was discovered. On that knife, there was a "small red dot that appears to be blood." Dennis Shaw's dog was also found in Clayton's vehicle.
A search warrant was obtained by investigators for the suspect's vehicle where they reportedly found a bottle of Lysol hydrogen peroxide cleaner in the back seat and the car was dirty and cluttered.
Detectives also found drops of blood inside the vehicle and what appeared to be a bloody fingerprint near the bumper of the vehicle.
A search warrant was obtained for the suspect's home where a homemade hatchet was found. During a subsequent interview with investigators, Clayton was observed to have fresh cuts on his fingers and thumb. Clayton told investigators that he had arranged to meet his father to borrow some money, but that his father had dropped the dog with Clayton and then left. The affidavit said Clayton told the investigators that Dennis Shaw had dropped off his dog at Clayton's apartment at 6 p.m. on Sept. 26 and left. He then told investigators he went to his father's house between 8 and 9 p.m. that evening. He then said that he returned to his residence about 10 p.m. Interviews with Clayton's roommates revealed that they never saw the dog and Clayton left that evening around 6 p.m. and they did not see him again that day.
Clayton's public defender, Shannon Demler, asked the court to postpone deciding whether bail would be allowed. Demler asked the court for time to gather evidence in the case.
Clayton Shaw was ordered to remain in jail and appear again in court Oct. 9. He could face up to life in prison, if convicted.
