CEDAR CITY — Three people have now been charged with murder and kidnapping in connection to the death of Stevie Shay Wilkerson.
Additional information about the case, including details of what are thought to be Wilkerson’s final hours, are outlined in a probable cause statement filed Thursday in 5th District Court.
Authorities believe that Wilkerson, a 26-year-old St. George woman, was a passenger in an ill-fated ride in a pickup truck that took place Aug. 9. The other three occupants of the vehicle, identified as Joseph Edward Fought, 30, Brittany Elizabeth Phillips, 27, and Maida Janet Martinez, 35, have now all been charged with Wilkerson’s kidnapping and murder.
Fought, who made his initial court appearance Tuesday, had his new charges, including aggravated murder and kidnapping, read to him by Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen during that session. However, Phillips, who also appeared in court that afternoon, was only charged with possessing or receiving a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony.
Wednesday, the charges against Phillips were updated to include murder and kidnapping, according to an amended information statement filed by Iron County Attorney Chad Dotson.
“At this time, Phillips is charged with murder and not aggravated murder,” Dotson later told Cedar City News.
Although both are first-degree felonies, only aggravated murder is punishable as a capital offense.
Then, on Thursday, prosecutors filed aggravated murder and kidnapping charges against Martinez, whose probable cause statement contains several details that had not previously been made public.
According to that charging document, Martinez told Iron County Sheriff’s investigators that she, Fought and Phillips had taken Wilkerson for a ride in a pickup truck from a hotel in St. George toward Cedar City on Aug. 9, with their trip taking them through the town of Enterprise.
Martinez reportedly told investigators that during the drive, “she slapped Wilkerson a few times and that they were all teasing and being mean to Wilkerson.”
Also during the drive, Fought allegedly punched Wilkerson in the face and made her bleed, the statement adds.
At some point, after they had taken a detour on a dirt road, Fought, who was reportedly carrying a handgun, and Martinez forced Wilkerson out of the vehicle while Phillips remained inside the truck, the probable cause statement indicates.
“When Fought and Martinez returned to the truck, Wilkerson was not with them,” the charging document states. “Phillips stated that Fought said, ‘No body, no case.’”
The trio then continued on to Cedar City, where they stopped at a fast-food restaurant before heading back to St. George via Interstate 15, the probable cause statement adds.
Authorities allege the occupants of the truck had all powered off their cell phones during the first part of the trip but that the devices were turned back on after they got to Cedar City.
“Cell phone location data indicates that the cell phones in the truck were turned back on in Iron County where they pinged off of a tower near Kanarraville,” the statement reads. “It was later discovered that Ms. Martinez was in possession and was using Wilkerson’s cell phone after she had been killed.”
Martinez’s probable cause statement also notes that Wilkerson’s body was found Aug. 23 “in a remote area of western Iron County.” Following an autopsy, the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office issued a preliminary finding that Wilkerson’s death was a homicide caused by a gunshot.
Both Fought and Phillips remain in Iron County Jail without bail, while Martinez is currently in custody at Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane. Both Fought and Phillips are due to appear via video link court again Monday when they are each scheduled to be seen by 5th District Judge Matthew L. Bell for a bail review and possible preliminary hearing.
Martinez’s initial court appearance had not yet been scheduled as of Thursday afternoon.
This is a developing story.
Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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