A Utah man is in jail after he told police he tried to kill two men over the weekend in separate counties along the Wasatch Front after a “higher power” told him to “purge” the cities.
One of the men, 49-year-old Ryan Hooley of Spanish Fork, was found dead Friday after he was apparently attacked, while the other, a 23-year-old man from Ogden, remains in critical condition, police said.
Christian Francis Taele, 28, of Springville, was charged Tuesday in 2nd District Court with attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony. He was arrested Saturday in Ogden after someone called police just after 7 p.m. to report that Taele had beaten and apparently hanged the 23-year-old victim at an apartment complex, according to a probable cause statement.
When police arrived at the 2433 Adams Ave. complex, they found the 23-year-old hanging by the neck from a piece of exercise equipment, according to the statement.
The victim was hospitalized, and the Saturday probable cause statement indicated that he had “no signs of brain activity.” During a Monday news conference, Ogden police Lt. Will Farr said the 23-year-old was in critical condition.
Taele admitted to trying to kill the man, whom he did not know, and said that nothing provoked the attack, police wrote.
During his Saturday interview with Ogden police, Taele also said he killed Hooley, the 49-year-old, the day before in Spanish Fork, nearly 90 miles away in Utah County. As of Monday, police had not described Hooley’s cause of death.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no charges have been filed in Hooley’s death.
While Farr declined to say how police connected the two attacks, court documents say the suspect confessed to both and “provided exact details of the (Spanish Fork) homicide and crime scene that [had] not been released to the public.”
Spanish Fork police had previously described Hooley’s death as “suspicious.” Officers found his body next to a dumpster near 1200 N. 400 East on Friday, according to a news release. Investigators believed he was experiencing homelessness.
On Monday, Spanish Fork police confirmed Hooley’s death as a homicide and said that Spanish Fork detectives were working in conjunction with Ogden police to investigate.
Farr declined to provide any additional information about the two victims, including their race, and would not say if police had identified any commonalities between them that may have been targeted. He said officers are investigating whether Taele may be connected to other area homicides or assaults.
“As of right now, we’re working closely with Spanish Fork Police Department, where we have two active investigations and we don’t want to hinder either of them,” Farr said.
Taele remains in Weber County jail without the option for bail.
