Utah law enforcement found the body of a 77-year-old man Friday in Logan Canyon and on Saturday arrested his son for murder.
The Cache County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to the Franklin Basin area of Logan Canyon by a hiker in the area he came upon the body. Investigators closed the area and later identified the dead man was Dennis Shaw.
Early Saturday morning, Shaw’s 33-year-old son, Clayton Shaw, was arrested and booked into the Cache County Jail.
Deputies asked for information about the case from the public, especially a black BMW belonging to the son and a white Ford F150 pickup truck belonging to the father.
According to KSL, deputies found the body near the snowmobile parking lot and found “evidence of the body having been moved or placed at that location,” an arrest affidavit said.
The report said that the Shaws had a recent history of disputes and that the elder Shaw or his trust had served his son an eviction notice in July.
Dennis Shaw called police on July 17 and said that his son showed up at his house “and threatened him by saying ‘I’m trying to find a way to kill you,” and took his phone. Dennis saw made another domestic violence report against his son a week later.
It’s not clear why deputies did not detain him at the time.
Deputies were called on Thursday by one of the elder Shaw’s employees who reported being unable to contact him. The employees were concerned since he had spoken of his son’s threats to him in the past, including a threat with a hatchet.
Other people had also reported Clayton Shaw to police, including a woman in his apartment complex who said “she was scared of Clayton and did not know what to do” because of his paranoia and frequent carrying of firearms.
On Friday, police were watching Dennis Shaw’s home when Clayton Shaw arrived, knocked on the door, and then drove away. Deputies conducted a traffic stop and found a knife with possible blood spot on the handle as well as possible blood on the interior of his truck and “what appeared to be a blood fingerprint near the bumper of the car,” the report said.
Shaw told police that he was supposed to meet his father for some money, but Dennis Shaw, he said, dropped off his dog and let. Police told him his father was dead, but Dennis did not ask how he died or request any kind of details, the affidavit said. When asked if he stabbed his father, he said he had not.
Clayton Shaw is being held without bond, jail records show.
