A Grantsville man who fatally shot his mother and three young siblings and attempted to kill his father more than three years ago in what prosecutors called a calculated, hourslong attack will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Colin Jeffery “CJ” Haynie, then 16, was charged in the deaths of his mother Alejandra Haynie and three siblings, ages 15, 14 and 12, in January 2020. In July 2022, he pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated murder and a count of attempted aggravated murder — all first-degree felonies that carry a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Third District Judge Teresa Welch on Wednesday sentenced Haynie, now 20, to 25 years to life in prison for each of the murder counts. Each of those sentences will run consecutively, she decided. Welch also sentenced Haynie to 25 years to life for the attempted murder count, to run concurrently.
Haynie, seated in the courtroom next to his attorneys, stared ahead and kept a straight face as Welch announced Haynie’s sentence. Though he faces at least 100 years in prison, the Board of Pardons and Parole will determine exactly how long he remains in custody and if his sentence will begin in a youth detention center, where Haynie’s been housed as the case was adjudicated, or in an adult facility.
Defense attorney Richard Van Wagoner had asked that Haynie receive concurrent sentences, giving him a chance to one day be released from prison. He said that while Haynie initially blamed his father for the crimes and was “immature, socially awkward and internalized,” he has since taken responsibility and made a “near miraculous transformation” to better understand and manage his emotions, and wouldn’t pose a threat if released.
He noted that Haynie had earned his high school diploma while incarcerated, and played a 15-minute video of the graduation ceremony for the court.
“The differences between when I met [Haynie] 3.5 years ago and now are so vast, so dramatic, so different,” Van Wagoner said, “it’s hard for me to even see in him that 16-year-old boy that I first met.”
Tooele County Attorney Scott Broadhead said it was baffling that someone could conclude Haynie wasn’t, or wouldn’t be, a threat. Broadhead said that Haynie hatched a plan to systematically kill each of his family members, burn down their house and flee with a “clean slate.” He ultimately killed four people over the course of about five hours.
Broadhead said that Haynie’s only explanation for the murders was that Haynie was angry at his father because of conflicts over his school and church attendance, or being restricted from hanging out with friends or playing video games — arguments teenagers and parents have “all the time.”
“[The killings] can’t be explained away by anxiety and immaturity,” Broadhead said. “Just about every 16-year-old in the history of this world has decided not to kill their parents.”
He added that Haynie had explained that he killed his mother and siblings because he feared his family would turn on him if he only killed his father, Colin Haynie.
The murders
On Jan. 17, 2020, Haynie stayed home from school, Broadhead said. He readied two guns and planted ammunition throughout the house. Then he waited.
His mother and 12-year-old sister Milan Haynie, referred to in court documents as “Maylan,” were his first victims, shot to death when they arrived home from school after 1 p.m. Broadhead said the defendant shot his youngest sister at pointblank range. When 15-year-old Alexis Haynie arrived home around 3 p.m., he followed her and fired five shots into her head and chest.
Two neighbors came by as Haynie waited for his remaining family members to return home, including his sisters’ piano teacher who was worried when they didn’t attend lessons that day. Both said Haynie appeared normal, Broadhead said.
Around 5:15 p.m., 14-year-old Matthew Haynie, referred to in court documents as “Mathew,” returned home from a birthday party. Broadhead said the defendant and Matthew were particularly close. The defendant shot the 14-year-old in the head at point blank range.
Haynie’s father arrived home about an hour later to a dark house. Broadhead said he thought his family must not be home. Then he turned and saw Haynie standing in the dark, raising a gun, and the older man “rushed” him. Haynie fired multiple rounds, but only one hit his father — in the leg.
The two struggled for about an hour, as Colin Haynie tried to defuse the situation and get the gun away from his son. Haynie hit his father in the head with the gun and blood rushed down his face, Broadhead said.
Eventually, a neighbor arrived at the home to return some keys and found the two “almost knotted together,” Broadhead said. She thought Colin Haynie was wearing a mask, but soon learned his face was covered in blood. They all agreed to go to the hospital, where Colin Haynie was treated and his son was taken into police custody.
Dead ‘for what?’
Van Wagoner, the defense attorney, told the court Wednesday that he remained struck by the fact that the defendant refused to speak with police during initial questioning without an attorney present. He said most of clients don’t know to ask for an attorney. He later learned this advice came from Haynie’s father, relayed to the boy as they were driving to the hospital.
“Under these horrific circumstances,” Van Wagoner said, “he was protecting his son.”
Colin Haynie attended the Wednesday hearing, but declined to make a statement, Broadhead said.
Haynie’s older brother, Danny, however, did make a statement. He told the court that the killings had traumatized him, playing on the innate fear that somehow one’s entire family will be taken from them without notice or reason.
But he said “the most frustrating part of all this” is it could have been prevented. He recalled a conversation with his mom around Thanksgiving, where she mentioned that Colin Jeffrey Haynie was having a rough transition from home school to public school and had said some “dark things” that made them consider getting him mental health treatment.
Danny Haynie said the boy’s father didn’t allow it to happen, worried Haynie might say something that would get himself into trouble.
“The irony now is that Jeffrey is still ending up in jail and the rest of my family is dead,” he said, “and for what?”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Funeral services are held for Alejandra Haynie and three of her children, ages 12, 14 and 15, in Grantsville on Friday, Jan. 24, 2020.
Welch said Wednesday that consecutive sentences for the murders were appropriate, given the severity of the crimes and number of victims, but added that she considered both Haynie’s age and capacity for growth when she decided that the attempted murder sentence could run concurrent to the others.
She said that Haynie’s actions had caused “immense sadness” by depriving his family members of life in such a “tragic and terrible manner.” Welch noted that Haynie also deprived himself of life with them, the people who “loved you most” and who would have loved to see him graduate from high school and have a “happy and fulfilling life.”
“Mr. Haynie, I wish you luck going forward,” she said, “and I hope you take advantage of all of the opportunities at the prison that will be made available to you, as I would think that your family would have wanted you to do so also.”
