The battle over executions is once again brewing in Arizona. This comes after a two-year-long hiatus while an independent review was taking place.

In November, Governor Katie Hobbs fired the retired Judge appointed to oversee the review, and the State Attorney General said the intention was to seek a warrant of execution for Aaron Gunches. Gunches is on death row for the 2002 murder of Ted Price.

Prices’ sisters spoke exclusively to ABC15, as they wait to see if this will be their final chapter involving their brother’s killer.

Murder of Ted Price

Ted Price was a 40-year-old father of two, who had been previously married. His life would be cut short after leaving his family in Utah and coming to the Valley at the end of 2002. He had plans to attend school and temporarily stay with his former partner.

“So that’s my last picture of Ted,” said his sister Karen Price.

The picture shows her brother waving goodbye, something Karen feels is now ironic. But those photos and memories are all they have left of Ted, who was the oldest of four.

“He left on a bus on the 17th of November,” said Karen.

But the Price family never heard from him. Ted’s sisters eventually called anyone they could trying to find their brother.

“I would spend the days calling hospitals and police detectives and stuff like that, trying to get somebody to listen,” said Ted’s other sister Shelia Banaszek.

But Banaszek said never in her wildest dreams could she imagine what happened.

Court documents and thousands of pages from police interviews paint a contentious relationship. Price’s sisters told ABC15 their brother didn’t approve of his partner’s actions or parenting decisions.

She ultimately wanted Ted to leave, and during a heated argument hit Ted in the face with a phone. But it was Aaron Gunches who shot and killed Ted off Highway 87 near Gilbert Road.

“We found out on the 30th of December that he had passed,” said Banaszek. “And then at that time, we didn’t even know how he had passed.”

It would be months until Gunches was indicted for Ted’s murder. During that time, he was arrested for shooting a DPS trooper near the California border.

That trooper survived, and Gunches pleaded guilty in both cases.

Ted’s family was there through each court hurdle including the sentencing phase, which happened twice. Ultimately, Gunches was sentenced to death in 2013.

“The possibility of an execution, I didn’t think it would happen for decades,” said Karen.

Legal battles continue

But in early 2023, Gunches was set to be executed. It was a date that would come and go. Governor Hobbs said the state wasn’t ready and ordered a review of Arizona’s death penalty protocols.

“It’s like a slap in the face,” said Banaszek. “Basically, a slap in the face. It’s a big letdown.”

Karen and Ted’s own daughter even filed lawsuits, but they were left waiting until November 2024. That’s when Governor Hobbs fired the Judge working on the review. Attorney General Kris Mayes called the Price family.

“She said, we’re going to issue his warrant,” said Karen. “And I thanked her.”

Karen said she is hoping now Gunches’ sentence will be carried out.

“All could say to the people who have very strong opinions about the death penalty and are against it, is walk in my shoes and then tell me how you feel,” said Karen.

She knows each family member has their own opinions and feelings, but Karen wants to be in Arizona that day

“I mean, it needs to be over,” said Banaszek. “I don’t know that that’ll make a difference. As I said, the nightmares, the nightmare that won’t ever go away.”

Ted’s sisters sat down with ABC15, hoping to bring some of the focus back to their brother.

“He should be brought back to the forefront, and somebody ought to think about that victim,” said Karen

“I want everybody to remember a very genuinely good person was taken away that day,” said Banaszek.

Calls for transparency

The Price family represents the personal side of this complex topic.

In 2024 the Arizona Department of Corrections documented their own review, listing changes they made to their protocol. The director told the governor they were prepared to resume executions.

The Judge who was carrying out the independent review was David Duncan. Despite Gov. Hobbs firing him, Duncan’s working rough draft was released. It cited various concerns including about the execution team, chain of commands, and storage of lethal drugs.

“The whole point of the independent review is that you take the Department of Corrections out of it, you need independence in this type of review,” said ACLU of Arizona Legal Director Jared Keenan. “The Governor and the AG themselves said they need an independent review. And now suddenly they are telling us no, no, no, never mind, just trust us. And that’s not good enough.”

The ACLU was one of the organizations that held a press conference in December calling for more transparency.

All of this is happening as the State Supreme Court considers a motion by AG Mayes to set a briefing schedule, which could ultimately lead to a request for a warrant of execution.

Gunches, who is representing himself, has already asked the court to speed up that process and issue the warrant. The death row inmate, in a hand-written note, even noting a possible execution date of February 14.

ABC15’s Ashley Holden spoke with the ACLU and people tracking executions all over the country. She will have more on the battle brewing here in Arizona in the coming days.

Stay with ABC15 for the latest on the case.

No. 21 West Virginia entered Tuesday night’s game against Arizona winning their last seven as well as being ranked for the first time this season.

The Mountaineers and Wildcats were familiar with each other, facing off back in November. West Virginia got the best of them then, but Arizona was too much to handle for the Mountaineers this time around, as WVU’s win streak came to an end, falling 75-56 at the WVU Coliseum.

The Mountaineers would get off to a slow start offensively as Arizona was able to slow down Javon Small. Small, who was named the Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week for his efforts last week, struggled to get in rhythm and that could be felt throughout the rest of the Mountaineer offense.

Small attempted 11 of West Virginia’s 26 shot attempts in the first half as the Mountaineers struggled to find any flow on that side of the ball. West Virginia trailed 27-17 before Small would be able to pull West Virginia within reach. Small scored five straight points, as WVU trailed by five with 7:08 to play in the first half.

That’s as close as the Mountaineers would get as West Virginia went on a four-plus minute scoring drought as Arizona stretched its lead to 11 at halftime. The Wildcats were very active on the glass in the opening 20 minutes, out-rebounding WVU, 20-13 and they had a 10-point advantage on points in the paint.

The second half started the same way the first half ended for West Virginia. They struggled offensively, as their first points didn’t come until the 17:32 mark of the first half as Arizona’s lead stretched to 15.

The Mountaineers would then catch fire from the field, making six straight field goals, as they went on a 9-0 run, cutting Arizona’s lead to just five as the Wildcats called a timeout with 2:31 to play. During the run, Sencire Harris made back-to-back threes, the second time in as many games he’s knocked down two triples after missing his first 28 3-point attempts of the season.

Arizona would respond soon thereafter, going on a 9-0 run across a 2:40 stretch, as a KJ Lewis 3-pointer put Arizona in front 62-47 and forced a Mountaineer timeout with 9:46 to play.

On Arizona’s run, the Mountaineers struggled to stop them on the glass. The Wildcats were able to get second and third chances as well as seemingly got to almost every 50-50 ball. The Wildcats finished the game with nine second-chance points as well as owned the rebounding advantage, 40-31.

In the end, West Virginia’s defense was unable to slow down the guard play of Arizona.

Between Jaden Bradley, Caleb Love, and Lewis, they scored a combined 45 points.

Arizona scored 36 points in the paint, and their seven 3-pointers made were tied for the second most they’ve made this season. Arizona shot 51 percent from the field, which was the best an opponent has shot from the field against WVU. this season.

West Virginia turned the ball over 10 times, leading to 15 points for the Wildcats. The Mountaineers shot 36 percent from the field and went 8-for-29 from beyond the arc.

West Virginia was dealt with more unfortunate injury news pregame as KJ Tenner was out due to an injury he suffered against Oklahoma State on Saturday. Tenner joined Tucker DeVries and Jayden Stone as Mountaineers to be out due to injury.

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Two years ago, Arizona state leaders were actively exploring the idea of a binational desalination plant that would bring water from the Sea of Cortez to the state. The plan, spearheaded by former Governor Doug Ducey, aimed to address the state’s growing water shortage. However, after facing backlash from water authorities and a lack of transparency, the project ultimately fell through. Later, Governor Katie Hobbs redirected funds away from long-term water supply projects, further pushing desalination off the table for the time being.

Despite these setbacks, one local researcher has continued to push the boundaries of desalination technology and is hopeful that his breakthroughs could provide a solution to the ongoing water crisis in Arizona. Professor Mark Witten, a researcher at the University of Arizona, has spent the past 17 years finding ways to efficiently remove salt from seawater.

In 2023, he shared his efforts with the public, explaining how his low-energy desalination technology could significantly reduce the cost and energy consumption typically associated with removing salt from seawater.

“We’ve gotten to the point where we can take out 99% of the salt from simulated ocean water,” said Witten, reflecting on his progress.

His recent work has culminated in a groundbreaking discovery that allows for the removal of 335 parts per million (ppm) of concentrated salt, which is the same salinity level found in Earth’s oceans.

He was initially working with a silicon disc, and decided to try isolating salt by using a reactive metal. He experimented with tungsten, copper, iron, and magnesium. Witten described finding success with a small magnesium disc, so he purchased a larger disc.

Witten recalled, “When I first did the first experiment. I just bought a brand new salinity meter from Amazon, and it registered 333 parts per million after I did the desalination. Remember, I started out at 35,000 parts per million. So I thought something was wrong with my new salinity meter. So I went into my kitchen, filled a glass of water, and measured the salinity. It was 425 parts per million and I almost fainted because I thought I had hit the jackpot.”

Witten is confident that his technology can make a real difference. “Our technology, we believe, can produce an acre-foot of water for less than $400,” he said. An acre-foot is equivalent to one acre of land covered by a foot of water, a standard unit of measurement for water volume.

Beyond providing freshwater, Witten hopes his technology will provide more resources. He highlights that the salt could contain lithium, an essential component for electric vehicle batteries, which could help further support the green energy industry.

“We plan to collect the salt and mine lithium from it,” Witten explained. “The electric vehicle industry cannot grow without more lithium, and this could help address that challenge as well.”

As Arizona faces the very real threat of water scarcity, Witten’s innovative desalination technology offers a potential solution to one of the state’s most pressing issues. He believes that large-scale desalination could help protect Arizona’s future by ensuring a more stable and sustainable water supply.

“The future growth of this state, and the other states in the Colorado River Compact, is in danger because we don’t have enough water,” said Witten.

As the state continues to grapple with its water challenges, Witten sees a future where the ocean could provide an answer to Arizona’s water shortage. Witten’s next steps involve getting an industrial prototype of his desalination technology off the ground.