Booking photo for Shawn Andrews (Courtesy: Cache County Jail).
LOGAN — A 29-year-old North Logan man has confessed to stabbing his mother in the back with a knife and killing her in 2019. Shawn R. Andrews accepted a plea deal that could send him to prison for the rest of his life.
Andrews participated in a virtual hearing in 1st District Court Tuesday morning, appearing by web conference from the Cache County Jail. He pleaded guilty but mentally ill to an amended charge of attempted murder, a first-degree felony; manslaughter and obstruction of justice, both second-degree felonies.
Public defender Mike McGinnis explained that as part of the plea agreement, prosecutors allowed Andrews to add the mental illness clause to his plea, even though he had previously been found competent to stand trial. They also agreed to ask for the murder and manslaughter charges to run consecutively at time of sentencing, and concurrently with the obstructing justice charge.
On the afternoon of Nov. 23, 2019, police officers found Debra Andrews lying dead on the floor, just inside the front door of her North Logan apartment. A cellphone and set of dentures were near her head. An empty bottle of alcohol was on a coffee table nearby.
Cache County Deputy Attorney Dane Murray said Shawn Andrews had stabbed Debra Andrews in the back after an argument. He then removed the knife and fled the scene.
Several neighbors witnessed the defendant running from the apartment complex at the time of the murder. He was carrying a black backpack and had something wrapped around his arm.
Police later arrested Andrews and located a black discarded backpack that had blood and the knife inside.
Andrews originally told officers he left the apartment early in the morning and was looking for his brother. He later changed his story several times before admitting to killing his mother and discarding the backpack. He also gave several different explanations for why he committed the crime.
Andrews spoke briefly during Tuesday’s hearing, telling the court he was willing to waive his right to a fair trial and admit to the charges. He was scheduled to be sentenced July 12 and will remain incarcerated, being held without bail, and could face up to life in prison.
will@cvradio.com