Twenty-five years ago, Pinder was sentenced to two life sentences for kidnapping and killing Rex Tanner and June Flood.
The 68-year-old Duchesne County ostrich rancher has since filed several unsuccessful appeals. On Tuesday, Pinder’s lawyer asked a Wasatch County judge to allow new discovery in the case.
Attorney Ann Marie Taliaferro could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But court documents show Pinder’s latest petition stems, in part, from a death row case that’s getting a fresh look: the Salt Lake Tribune reports new DNA evidence may show Douglas Stewart Carter is innocent of a decades-old Provo murder.
Pinder argues his case, too, has more evidence worth considering.
He claims no physical evidence ties him to the crimes, key evidence may have been falsified, not all relevant evidence was disclosed at trial and several witnesses provided unreliable testimony.
Pinder alleges that law enforcement may have tampered with 911 call records to show the murders happened on a date when he didn’t have an alibi. He also says law enforcement paid off or otherwise interfered with witnesses who testified in his Wasatch County trial.
He’s asking a 4th District judge to order the Duchesne County Sheriff, Duchesne County Attorney and Utah Attorney General to produce a long list of additional evidence in his case.
Pinder was convicted of shooting two of his employees in October 1998, then blowing up their bodies.
Before the murders, the Deseret News reports he was known for keeping a lion as a pet.
The Utah Supreme Court upheld Pinder’s conviction in 2015.
His first parole hearing is scheduled for November 2028.
