Kiplyn Davis (July 1, 1979 — disappeared May 2, 1995) was an
American 15-year-old student who disappeared from her high school campus in
Spanish Fork, Utah. She is a featured child on the Polly Klaas Foundation. In
2011, a classmate was sentenced to 15 years on manslaughter charges against
Davis but refused to name his alleged accomplices or indicate where Davis's
remains were supposedly concealed.
Disappearance
Davis, a sophomore, was last seen at Spanish Fork High
School in Spanish Fork, Utah. That morning she had had a fight with both of her
parents then attended her early driver's education class, her morning classes
and was seen at lunchtime in the school's cafeteria with her friends and
classmates. She did not show up for her fourth and fifth period classes.
However, one close friend said he spoke with her between fourth and fifth
period but later changed his story. All of her personal belongings, including
her purse, makeup, dental retainer and schoolbooks, were left in her locker at
school and she never returned home for the day. It has been testified that she
told friends that she would not be attending activities planned that evening,
and in fact, had mentioned it would be better if she ran away. She was reported
missing when she failed to arrive home at 17:00 when she was always home by
15:30.
After months passed without Davis' return or any clues as to
her whereabouts, police began to suspect foul play in her disappearance.
Although she had a fight with her parents the day of her disappearance and
mentioned running away, her family believes she was murdered. After her
disappearance there were rumors that her body was buried in a local canyon, a
train tunnel, under a building, and various other locations, but her remains
were never found. Four years after her disappearance, her family held a
memorial service for Davis and put up a marker in her name at the Spanish Fork
City Cemetery.
Investigation
In 2003, U.S. Attorney Paul Warner revived the probe into
Davis's death. Timmy Brent Olsen and Christopher Neal Jeppson had been charged
with her murder.
On May 6, 2009 the Utah State prosecutors dropped the murder
charges against Christopher Neal Jeppson. In court he pled no contest to
obstruction related charges and ultimately signed an affidavit that he does not
know the circumstances or cause of Kiplyn Davis's disappearance.
Rucker Leifson pleaded guilty to one count of lying to a
grand jury and was sentenced to four years in prison. Gary Blackmore and Scott
Brunson have also been found guilty of lying to a grand jury. Their sentences
hinge upon their testimony against Olsen.
On June 1, 2009, news of a decision by the judge on a motion
to dismiss the murder charge against Olsen was announced. The judge decided to
defer any ruling on the motion in the case, stating he had not heard all the
evidence from the prosecutors. An evidentiary hearing to establish whether
there is evidence of death is still possible.
On February 11, 2011, Timmy Brent Olsen pleaded guilty to
manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He claimed he saw another
individual hit Davis in the head with a rock and helped him move her body, but
declined to name the other individual. Although
he admitted that he helped move and bury the body, he refuses to tell
authorities where the body is located. Olson
and Leifson had come under suspicion after claiming they left school with Davis
on the day she disappeared.
In popular culture
The crime documentary series Nightmare Next Door released an
episode about Kiplyn's disappearance, subtitled Stealing Beauty (season 8,
episode 1, air date: January 24, 2014).
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