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.
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