SALT LAKE CITY — Shawn Christopher Sturgeon says he doesn’t understand, or really even remember, how an argument over car keys escalated to become the “worst mistake of my life.”

“I wish I could explain the choices that I made,” he said Tuesday. “I have no idea why we were so angry at each other that day.”

That argument began as Sturgeon and his wife, 29-year-old Charlotte Marie Dalton-Sturgeon, got off their flight at the Salt Lake City International Airport on April 4, 2022, and continued as they walked through the airport and to their car in the parking garage.

Just as Shawn Sturgeon started the vehicle, Charlotte Sturgeon got out to check on their young daughter in the back seat. But Shawn Sturgeon continued to put the vehicle in reverse and ran over his wife. She died a short time later at a local hospital.

Shawn Sturgeon pleaded guilty to automobile homicide while driving under the influence, a second-degree felony, and domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony. He was sentenced to one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison for the homicide charge and a term of zero to five years in prison for the domestic violence charge, and the sentences were ordered to be served consecutively — essentially making it a sentence of one to 20 years.

On Tuesday, Sturgeon went before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole for the first time. Board member Dan Bokovoy, who conducted the hearing, noted that both victim representatives and supporters of Sturgeon were in the audience.

As the hearing began, Sturgeon recalled how “falling in love with her was probably one of the easiest things I’ve ever done” when talking about his wife of 11 years. “She was my best friend in the whole world.”

The couple had two daughters together.

Shawn Sturgeon says he believes they had a great relationship. But he admitted that on weekends and evenings, they would spend most of their time drinking. Denise Nimtz also told the board on Tuesday that her son-in-law drank alcohol and smoked pot daily and had driven while intoxicated in the past.

On April 4, 2022, Sturgeon says he and his wife were returning from a family wedding in Texas and were sitting in first class and started drinking as soon as they got on the plane. He said the plane ride was normal, until they were about to land, and the couple couldn’t remember where their car keys were.

Sturgeon admitted to the board on Tuesday that he was already an alcoholic by that point in his life, but he reached a “different level” of intoxication that day.

“We weren’t even coherent, I think,” he told the board, while adding he doesn’t remember getting off the plane, walking through the airport or arguing with his wife along the way. “I feel like I was out of control.”

At one point during the hearing, when Sturgeon again said, “I have no idea why we were so mad at each other over something as simple as keys,” Bokovoy reminded him, “It’s you we’re talking about today,” and that Sturgeon shouldn’t be saying “we” when recounting his actions that day.

When recalling what happened in the parking garage, Sturgeon said he “angrily” and “aggressively” put his car in reverse.

“I felt her go underneath the vehicle,” he said. “I instantly knew I had just made the worst mistake ever.”

But as the board pointed out, according to witnesses, Sturgeon’s reaction at that point was extremely callous as he got out of the car and continued screaming at his wife.

“There could have been so many different ways I could have handled that,” he said.”I wish I had a better answer. I don’t know what was going through my head that day.”

When it was time for Nimtz, Charlotte’s mother, to address the board, she talked about how difficult it had been for her and Sturgeon’s two daughters, now ages 5 and 6, since that night.

“They still struggle over the loss of their mom on some level every day,” she said.

Nimtz told the board that, “I have forgiven Shawn. I love Shawn.” But she doesn’t want his daughters returned to him until he can prove outside of prison that he has control over his substance abuse and mental health issues. Nimtz says she recognizes that Sturgeon has been a model inmate since being incarcerated, having zero disciplinary violations and no dirty drug tests.

But the classes and treatment he receives and the accomplishments he achieves while in prison mean nothing to Nimtz. She asked the board to require that if Sturgeon is released, that he be required to continue with such programming as alcohol treatment, grief therapy and parenting classes.

“I am asking for as much protection as you can give us,” Nimtz said.

When asked if he wanted to respond to her comments, Sturgeon thanked Nimtz for having the strength to attend Tuesday’s hearing and for saying what she did.

Sturgeon ended his remarks by saying, “I want to be a good father. … I want to be somebody that other people look up to.

“I’ve been sober since that day (my wife died) and plan on being sober for the rest of my life.”

When asked if prison was an appropriate punishment, Sturgeon told the board, “Yes.” But he believes his real punishment will happen once he is released and back around the people he’s hurt and has to explain himself to them.

The full five-member board will now vote whether to grant parole or set a date for another hearing. If Sturgeon serves his full time, he will be released in 2042.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Dallin H. Oaks, a former Utah Supreme Court justice, was named Tuesday to lead The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its more than 17 million members worldwide.

Oaks’ selection as president of what is widely known as the Mormon church follows the recent death of his 101-year-old predecessor, Russell M. Nelson. His ascension is not a surprise; a longstanding church policy says the longest-tenured member of a top leadership body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles becomes the next president. The tradition is meant to ensure a seamless transition and prevent internal or public lobbying.

As president, Oaks is considered a prophet and seer who will guide the church through divine revelation from God alongside two top counselors and members of the Quorum. He’ll set policy and oversee the church’s many business interests.

The church’s leadership transition comes as many of its members have been shaken by a deadly attack on a Michigan congregation, and are grappling with the high-profile assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, where the denomination is based.

At 93, Oaks will be one of the church’s oldest presidents. He will serve in the role until he dies. Tenures for past presidents have varied, with the longest reaching nearly 30 years and the shortest being just nine months.

Experts are doubtful Oaks will pivot sharply from Nelson’s approach to leadership because he was one of Nelson’s closest advisers. But experts say Oaks might shift from Nelson’s focus on the faith’s global footprint to domestic issues.

In the first major difference from Nelson’s presidency, Oaks announced during the faith’s recent general conference that the church will slow the announcement of new temples.

He also emphasized the importance of family while acknowledging that not all families look the same. In a departure from his typical sermons, which often appeal more to reason than emotion, Oaks shared a story about the day his grandfather told him at age 7 that his father had died. He went on to describe the value of being raised by a single mother and others who stepped into parental roles for him and his siblings.

Oaks is known for his jurist sensibilities and traditionalist beliefs on marriage and religious freedom. He has been a driving force in the church against same-sex marriage and in upholding a teaching that homosexuality is a sin — a position that causes uneasiness among LGBTQ+ members and their allies.

He said in 2022 that social and legal pressure would not influence the church to change its posture on same-sex marriage and matters of gender identity.

Yet in recent years, Oaks has been part of some key church moves that suggest he might not make the topic a centerpiece of his administration, experts say. Oaks was Nelson’s closest adviser in 2019 when Nelson rescinded a policy that banned baptisms for children of gay parents and labeled same-sex couples as sinners eligible for expulsion.

Oaks has also been a strong advocate for civil public discourse.

Early on as an apostle, he was involved in a crackdown on far-right extremism that resulted in some excommunications. In 2020, he gave a speech about having faith in elections without resorting to radicalism or violence.

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A festivalgoer was killed outside a popular country music festival in Utah when she was struck by a piece of falling debris from a nearby construction site while fleeing from the intense weather.

Ava Ahlander was outside Redwest Music Festival at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City when powerful gusts of wind ripped a large plank from a scaffold and sent it flying towards her, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

The 23-year-old was evacuating the fairgrounds with other attendees and three friends to find shelter from the high winds when the massive plank fell about 30 feet as she and her friends stepped out of her car — crushing her and her vehicle.

She was rushed to the hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries, police said.

The young country music fan died from her injuries, a family representative told KSL on Monday.

Ahlander, who grew up in American Fork and had been living in Seattle, returned to the Beehive State with friends to enjoy the music festival and see Post Malone, her uncle, Bobby Ahlander wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post.

“She just always loved having fun. It was really fun to be around her,” he told KSL.

“Honestly, it’s been excruciating. The grief and the sorrow, and of course, it’s such a big surprise; and it’s just such a huge loss.”

Her uncle said, as his niece and her friends stood outside the vehicle, the plank hit her in what he called a “freak accident.”

Though first responders managed to revive her at the scene, doctors later found she had no brain activity, he revealed.

Her family said she was kept on life support just long enough for them to say their goodbyes.

“Ava was a beautiful soul whose kindness, warmth, and adventurous spirit touched everyone around her,” family members wrote on a GoFundMe to help them with funeral and medical expenses, and to provide funds for her friends who witnessed the tragedy to attend grief counseling.

“Even in her passing, Ava continues to give the gift of life to others as an organ donor—a final act of generosity that truly reflects her caring nature and desire to help those in need.”

Ahlander’s love for music was matched only by her love for the outdoors, the ocean, and her life in the Pacific Northwest, her uncle Bobby revealed to KSL.

After graduating from American Fork High School, she headed to Oregon for college before settling in Seattle, where she’d fallen in love with her new surroundings.

“Ava was an absolute delight of a human being. Everyone loved her. She had the best smile,” her uncle wrote on Facebook.