A Utah man was sentenced to prison Tuesday for choking and fatally stabbing 25-year-old Ashlyn Black in May 2020 while the two of them were on a date.
Ethan Hunsaker, 26, who pleaded guilty but mentally ill in June 2021, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for Black’s murder. Before he is sent to Utah State Prison, he will be committed to the Utah State Hospital for no more than 18 months, or until his mental state has been stabilized, 2nd District Judge David Connors ruled.
Part of the reason Connors ruled that Hunsaker would first go to the state hospital is because Hunsaker said he is experiencing suicidal and homicidal ideation, the judge said.
After Connors announced the sentence, he addressed Hunsaker directly, and said he hoped that Hunsaker would receive the treatment he needed at the state hospital.
“But frankly, I admit that’s not the primary reason I’m doing this,” he said, adding that he was concerned for the inmates, corrections officers and others that Hunsaker might harm if he was sent straight to prison without treatment.
A prosecutor for the state said that Hunsaker hadn’t shown remorse for his actions.
Black’s family attended the sentencing hearing Tuesday, where they gave wrenching statements about how her death has affected them. Her mother, Jamie Buckalew, said Black had a fierce love for her family, as well as empathy for people with mental illnesses. Her daughter had wanted to be a mother “with all her heart,” Buckalew said.
“Ashlyn was a light to our family,” Buckalew said.
Now, she can’t stop imagining her daughter’s final moments, Buckalew said. She believes Hunsaker preyed upon Black because of her compassion, and that he made preparations to kill her.
Wearing a black dress that matched the dress Black wore when she was cremated, Avery Black described the moment she learned her sister was dead. “It felt like the earth had opened up and I fell into it.”
On the night of the slaying, the sister said their family was only told that Ashlyn Black’s death had been violent. They later learned how she had been killed from a news article, the sister said.
Avery Black said she lives with “paralyzing” anxiety, and that she’s scared to go outside at night and afraid to date. She said there will never be justice for her sister.
Ashlyn Black’s father, Shaun Black, said his daughter had a “special talent” of never being on time. “I would give anything to be waiting for her, because it would mean I’d get to see her again,” he said.
After the hearing, the family’s attorney, Joshua Egan, told The Salt Lake Tribune, “Nothing is going to bring Ashlyn back. Nothing can restore [her family’s] lives to what they were before she was taken from them. And they’ll never be the same.
“But the fact that they’ve moved past this sentencing phase and were able to either say their piece in court, or be present and show their support for Ashlyn and for each other — that, I think, was a big moment for them,” Egan continued.
The Black family emailed a statement to the Tribune on Tuesday evening, thanking the community for its support.
“We continue to honor Ashlyn’s memory by celebrating her never-ending love for her friends and family,” the statement read.
On May 24, 2020, Hunsaker called 911 to report that he had killed someone at his home in Layton, according to the Layton Police Department. When officers arrived, they found a woman who was later identified as Black lying on the floor with multiple stab wounds to her torso. First responders tried to treat her, but she died at the scene.
After police took Hunsaker into custody, he reportedly told officers that he had met Black on the dating app Tinder, according to a probable cause statement. He said they had gone out for drinks earlier that night, and after they left the bar, the two had gone to his house.
Later that night, Hunsaker woke up next to Black, who was still asleep. Then he choked her and stabbed her multiple times with a knife, the document states.
Hunsaker told officers that the date was “normal,” and that the slaying had been unprovoked.
The next month, Hunsaker pleaded not guilty to murder. In August 2021, he changed his plea to guilty but mentally ill.
(Layton Police Department via AP) On Tuesday, Ethan Hunsaker was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the murder of Ashlyn Black in 2020.
Hunsaker’s attorney, Markley Arrington, said during the hearing Tuesday that his client wouldn’t receive the mental health treatment he needed if he was sent to prison. Attempts to reach Arrington for comment Tuesday afternoon were unsuccessful.
A personal obituary posted online stated that Black lived her life as an “adventurous, tender and loving free spirit.” She loved the band Nirvana, it said, and some of her favorite lyrics were “Come as you are.”
“Ashlyn was a beautiful example of love; she taught inclusion and tolerance for everyone,” the obituary stated.
