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Paighten Harkins

Reporter

Paighten covers breaking news and the criminal justice system for the Salt Lake Tribune. Before starting at the Tribune in October 2017, she lived and worked in Oklahoma. She has a dog named Major, who's objectively very cute.

(GoFundMe) Gavin Peterson, 12, died in July 2024 after authorities suspect his father, stepmother and older brother abused him for "several years."

Utah woman accused of killing 12-year-old stepson pleads guilty, joining 2 other relatives

By Paighten Harkins | April 10, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Illustration by Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah agreed to pay a company $1.7 million over five years to digitize and reproduce letters sent to inmates to help cut down on contraband. About a month later, the Corrections Department was aware of “issues with delayed delivery, quality" and more.

Utah agreed to pay a Nevada company up to $1.7M to screen prison mail. The concerns quickly piled up.

By Paighten Harkins | April 9, 2025, 4:29 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

This Utah man once tried to strangle a woman he’s now accused of killing. Lawmakers cut funding for an exam to assess risk in such cases.

By Paighten Harkins | April 7, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Ogden Police Department) Members of the Ogden Metro Gang Task Force shot and killed a “known white supremacist gang member" on April 4, 2025, after they say the man pulled a gun on officers attempting to arrest him.

White supremacist gang member killed by police, Ogden officer shot in northern Utah

By Paighten Harkins | April 4, 2025, 9:42 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake County Health Department has laid off staff after the Trump administration's decision to claw back $11.4 billion in COVID-related funding to state and local health departments nationwide.

Utah public health workers laid off as Trump cuts billions in COVID funding

By Jose Davila IV | Clarissa Casper | Mark Eddington | Paighten Harkins | Jeff Parrott | Brock Marchant | March 28, 2025, 11:36 p.m.

(GoFundMe) Gavin Peterson, 12, as identified in a GoFundMe campaign created by his aunt. The 12-year-old West Haven boy died in July 2024 after authorities suspect his father, stepmother and older brother abused him for "several years."

Father, brother charged in starving death of Utah boy Gavin Peterson enter plea deals

By Paighten Harkins | March 28, 2025, 11:28 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith speaks during a news conference in 2022 about his office's investigation into a "ritualistic" sex abuse ring. A judge on Thursday dismissed a case against a central suspect in their investigation, finding that police and prosecutors withheld evidence.

‘Ritual’ sex abuse case: Judge dismisses charges against a central suspect after police and prosecutors withheld key evidence

By Jessica Schreifels | Paighten Harkins | March 21, 2025, 9:57 p.m.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Demolition crews begin their work leveling the Fleet Block, including the memorialized faces of people killed by police, near 800 South and 300 West in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 20, 2025.

SLC murals of people killed by police destroyed in Fleet Block demolition

By Tony Semerad | Paighten Harkins | Shaylee Navarro | March 21, 2025, 5:15 p.m.

(Salt Lake City Police Department) Officer Mitchell Bailey points his gun toward tall grass after shooting and injuring a suspect on June 29, 2024. Salt Lake County District Attorney said Bailey was not justified in firing, but that his office would not charge him.

Salt Lake police officer won’t face charges in seemingly accidental shooting that injured a man

By Paighten Harkins | March 17, 2025, 3:11 p.m.

(Illustration by Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune) After decades of trying, Provo officials have a deal in place to bring a Walmart Supercenter to the city's grocery-desert west side.

After a 20-year wait, this Utah city is finally getting a west-side grocery store

By Paighten Harkins | March 10, 2025, 12:00 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) David Leavitt observes Utah Supreme Court arguments in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb 28, 2025.

Utah lawyers disciplined a high-profile elected prosecutor. Here’s how he’s fighting back.

By Paighten Harkins | March 1, 2025, 1:00 p.m.

(Robert Stevens | Sanpete Messenger) Joe and Lee Bennion of Spring City have been harassed over decade-old witness statements that accused of scores of Utahns of ritual abuse of children and other crimes, including cannibalism. It's clear that the Bennions and others were falsely accused, their attorney says.

This Utah couple is being harassed over old satanic abuse claims. They want the state to clear their names.

By Paighten Harkins | Jessica Schreifels | February 27, 2025, 1:18 a.m.

(Illustration by Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah has been defying the centuries-long, 12-person jury standard since statehood.

When justice is at stake, science says more jurors are better than fewer. So why are Utah juries so small?

By Paighten Harkins | February 24, 2025, 1:00 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rep. Nicholeen Peck, R-Tooele, during floor time in the House, on Thursday, Feb 20, 2025. Peck is proposing HB209, which would remove a requirement that makes parents who homeschool children sign an affidavit swearing they’ve never been convicted of child abuse.

Utah homeschooling community wants to dismantle law meant to stop child abusers from homeschooling, says it’s not effective

By Paighten Harkins | February 26, 2025, 9:39 p.m.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Provo Airport in Provo on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. The "fastest growing commercial airport in the entire country" now plans to get bigger, its director said.

Provo’s tiny, budget-friendly airport is the ‘fastest growing’ in the U.S. — and bracing to get even bigger

By Paighten Harkins | February 20, 2025, 1:19 p.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake County Metropolitan Jail on Tuesday, Feb 11, 2025.

Father fears Utah bill to better provide substance misuse treatment in jails wouldn’t do enough to prevent deaths

By Paighten Harkins | February 20, 2025, 9:53 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Vineyard city offices on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024.

After Vineyard ‘power grab,’ Utah looks to limit city councils’ actions in the interim weeks after elections

By Paighten Harkins | February 12, 2025, 1:00 p.m.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Adult cats for adoption at the North Utah Valley Animal Shelter, in Lindon, on Aug. 23, 2022.

Best Friends offered Provo $1M to run a trap-neuter-return program for feral cats. Police suggested letting the ‘little predators’ starve.

By Paighten Harkins | February 6, 2025, 1:00 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Firefighters look on as the Senate votes on HB267, a bill aimed at banning collective bargaining for public labor unions in Utah, at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025.

Utah’s anti-public union bill advances again with promise of ‘union-neutral’ rewrite — but union reps say they haven’t seen it

By Paighten Harkins | Carmen Nesbitt | January 31, 2025, 5:37 p.m.

(Salt Lake City Police Department) Video footage released by SLCPD shows Megan Joyce Mohn, 40, repeatedly scream for help as officers held her down during the Jan. 11, 2022, altercation that led to her death.

SLC officers who kneeled on woman’s back followed protocol, contributing to her death, D.A. says. Now he wants better training.

By Paighten Harkins | January 29, 2025, 1:00 p.m.

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