Latest news with #KayleeDutton
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Yahoo
Teen, 17, Was Being Sexually Abused. While Driving Near Abuser's Home, Strangers Feared She Was Stalking Them — and Killed Her
Kaylee Dutton was killed in a shooting in January near the residence of her abuser, who has not been charged in connection with her murder A Utah man has admitted to sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl before the teen was fatally shot by strangers who thought she was stalking them. The teen, identified by family members as Kaylee Dutton, was killed on Jan. 17, according to ABC 4, Cedar City News and KUTV. She was killed moments after driving through the townhome community where her abuser Justin Driffill lived in Cedar City, per ABC 4 and Cedar City News. Driffil, 27, was not charged in connection to Dutton's death. On Wednesday, July 23, he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct with a 16-17-year-old , ABC 4 and Cedar City News reported. Dutton's family says they believe she would not have been killed if she was not being sexually abused by him. "If it weren't for that, I just, we all just truly believe that she wouldn't have been in that neighborhood that night, and she would still be here," her mother, Kimberlee Dutton, told ABC 4. The investigation into Driffil began in October 2024 when Dutton, then 17, told her mother that Driffil was sexually engaging with her, per Cedar City News. Kimberlee told officers that Kaylee opened up to her about a relationship with Driffil after she was let go from the job where she worked under Driffil. The investigation revealed that Driffil and Kaylee were interacting on Snapchat, and Driffil admitted to police he was aware of her age at the time of their sexual encounters, per the men charged in connection with Kaylee's killing lived in the same apartment complex, Cedar City News reported, citing court documents. Michael Hess-Witucki and Ethan Galloway pleaded guilty to murder charges in April, ABC 4, KSL and Iron County Today reported at the time. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
25-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Girl, 17, shot dead by strangers while driving to home of groomer who was sexually abusing her
A 17 year-old girl was shot dead by a group of strangers while driving to the home of a groomer who has now been convicted of sexually abusing her. Kaylee Dutton, 17, died on a lonely stretch of road near Cedar City, Utah, when 12 bullets were fired into her car late in January of this year after she was mistaken for a stalker. The teenager was hit at least once by a .223 caliber bullet and crashed her red pickup truck into a fence. She was dead on arrival at Cedar City Hospital. Dutton had been driving near the home of Justin Driffill, 27, who was arrested and charged last October with unlawful sexual conduct against Dutton. She was under the age of consent in Utah - 18 - at the time of her killing. Driffill pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct against Dutton, a third degree felony, at a court in Cedar City Wednesday. He will be sentenced later this year. Dutton's mother Kimberlee told ABC4 that the family had been close friends with Justin from when she was a toddler and that Kaylee worked with Justin after she graduated high school. She believes that Kaylee might still be alive today if the relationship with Driffill, who has pleaded guilty, had never started saying her daughter was in love with him. Kimberlee said: 'If it weren't for that, I just, we all just truly believe that she wouldn't have been in that neighborhood that night, and she would still be here.' Michael Hess-Witucki and Ethan Galloway both pleaded guilty to killing Kaylee, saying they thought Kaylee had been stalking them. Kaylee's family also told the outlet that they have no closure surrounding Driffill's guilty plea. Kimberlee added: 'A guilty plea doesn't really undo the damage that he did to her. It doesn't really bring back her life, but it does prove what we've been saying all along. 'The truth is at the end of the day he hurt her, and he knew it.' Charging documents in the case, seen by St George News, say that Kaylee had detailed to investigators the sexual contact between her and Driffill. Investigators in the case recovered message exchanges between the two over Snapchat, Driffill told officers he was aware of their age difference. Driffill is to be sentenced later this year after his guilty please, while Hess-Witucki and Galloway are also awaiting sentencing for murdering Kaylee. Iron County Sheriff Ken Carpenter said the pair admitted their roles in Kaylee's death and Galloway wrote a letter to her family explaining his actions. 'Both suspects admitted that their actions had resulted in serious bodily injury and death of the victim,' an arrest affidavit read. 'Their justification for chasing the victim's vehicle was they believed they had previously observed the victim's vehicle in their neighborhood and presumed the occupants of the victim's vehicle were (stalking) them. 'At the conclusion of the interview, Ethan wrote a letter of apology to the parents of the victim, describing the reasoning why he chased the victim's vehicle and shot the victim-driver.' 'Both suspects admitted that their actions had resulted in serious bodily injury and death of the victim,' an arrest affidavit read. 'Their justification for chasing the victim's vehicle was they believed they had previously observed [it] in their neighborhood and presumed the occupants were [stalking] them. 'At the conclusion of the interview, Ethan wrote a letter of apology to the parents of the victim, describing the reasoning why he chased the victim's vehicle and shot the victim.' Galloway and Hess-Witucki saw Kaylee's car at their home block and chased after it in a black 2018 Chevrolet Silverado, flashing the car's high beam headlights. Kaylee and her 18-year-old friend saw the pickup truck pursuing them and drove almost six miles north and then west out of town. Hess-Witucki pulled alongside them just before the intersection of Midvalley Road and 4300 W and Galloway sprayed the car with bullets. Kaylee's friend survived with only a leg injury. The unidentified passenger called 911 at 10:32pm. Dispatch audio indicates that first responders arrived at the scene 20 minutes later. A local SWAT team arrested Galloway and Hess-Witucki outside their home at about 5:45pm the following day.
