Kiplyn Davis was a teenager who vanished in 1995. Five men have been charged in relation to her disappearance and presumed murder.
Case[]
Kiplyn was last seen in Spanish Fork, Utah, on May 2, 1995, She fought with her parents that morning before attending an early driver's education class. She attended her morning classes at Spanish Fork High School as usual and was seen eating lunch with her friends but did not attend her fourth and fifth-period classes. A close friend initially claimed to have spoken to Kiplyn between her fourth and fifth-period classes but later changed his story. She left her personal belongings, including her makeup, dental retainer and purse, behind in her school locker. Her family reported her missing when she failed to return home by 5:00 P.M. as usual.
Kiplyn's disappearance was initially treated as a runaway case by authorities. This was due to her age and the fact that she had argued with her parents so shortly before she vanished. However, according to her parents, it was considered out of character for her to disappear without warning. Kiplyn was also apparently happy with her life and was looking forward to her older sister getting married. Two weeks after she was last seen, the police made a public plea to help find Kiplyn. Once months began to pass without Kiplyn returning and no clues as to her whereabouts emerged, law enforcement began to suspect foul play was involved in her case.
On the night Kiplyn vanished, five boys, Garry Von Blackmore, Scott Brunson, Timmy Brent Olsen, Christopher Neal Jeppson and David Rucker Leifson, claimed to be in the school auditorium. All of the boys, with the exception of Blackmore, who did not attend school, were students and members of the school's drama club. They said that they were hanging lights in preparation for an upcoming performance.
In 2003, attorney Paul Warner revived the probe into Kiplyn's disappearance and in 2005, indictments were finally made in Kiplyn's case. It had come to light that a community choir had been performing in the auditorium on the night Kiplyn vanished and that they had not seen the five men who had claimed to be there. Brunson was charged with perjury and lying to a federal agent in April. Blackmore was also charged with perjury and lying to a federal agent in August. Olsen was charged with fifteen counts of lying to a grand jury in September. Jeppson was charged with perjury before a grand jury and making false statements to an FBI agent in October. Leifson was charged with perjury in November. Several of the men have criminal records.
All of the men, besides Blackmore, who received probation, served time in prison for the abovementioned charges. Olsen and Jeppson were also both charged with Kiplyn's presumed murder. However, Jeppson reached a plea deal with prosecutors in May 2009, a month before his trial was set to begin, to instead plead no contest to obstruction of justice. He signed an affidavit claiming to have had no involvement in Kiplyn's abduction and that he does not know what happened to her.
In February 2011, Olsen pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter a month before he was due to be tried for Kiplyn's murder. Through his attorney, Olsen claimed that he had witnessed an unknown person hit Kiplyn twice in the head with a softball-sized rock, killing her. Olsen and this individual then hid her body under some trees in the Spanish Fork Canyon that night before transferring it to another unspecified location. He refused to reveal the identity of the person he was with but revealed that they were one of the men who had pleaded guilty to perjury. Kiplyn's father has offered to advocate for Olsen in exchange for the location of his daughter's body, but Olsen has refused to tell him. Olsen was sentenced to 1 to 15 years in prison; had he been charged with murder, he would have received a life sentence.
Police believe that Kiplyn was raped and murdered by Olsen and Leifson while the other three men lied to give them an alibi. After she disappeared, there were rumours that Kiplyn may have been buried in a local canyon, under a train tunnel, under a building or in various other locations. However, her remains have never been found. Four years after she vanished, Kiplyn's family held a memorial service in her honor and placed a marker for her in the Spanish Fork Cemetery.
Characteristics[]
- Curly red hair with bangs.
- Light blue eyes.
- Pierced ears.
- Few facial freckles.
- Small birthmark at the back of neck.
- Had a dental retainer but was not wearing it at time of disappearance.
Clothing and accessories[]
- Off-white long-sleeved crewneck shirt with a beige stripe.
- Dark blue denim shorts.
- Light blue denim vest, which may have beige strips with a tag on the side that reads "ENUF".
- White leather sandals with cork soles, three front straps and two heel straps.
- Royal blue underpants.
- White bra.
- Guess brand watch with a large silver-trimmed face and a black leather band.
- Sterling silver band ring with a floral design.
- Sterling silver ring shaped like a shield with the letters “CTR” engraved in the centre and flowers on either side.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- Kiplyn Davis at the Charley Project
- Kiplyn Davis at NamUs
- Kiplyn Davis at NCMEC
- Kiplyn Davis at the Doe Network
- Kiplyn Davis on Wikipedia