PROVO, UT — Utah County prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty against a Springville man accused of killing his mother and another man inside a home where investigators later found signs of a violent attack. Matthew Jacob Leonard, 28, faces two aggravated murder counts that have now been filed as capital offenses.
The case centers on Sarah Johnson, of Springville, and John Waldron Handricks, 50, of Salt Lake City. Their bodies have not been recovered. Prosecutors say the notice to seek death was signed after Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray consulted with the victims’ families and concluded the evidence supports the most serious punishment available under state law.
Capital charges add to a long list of allegations against Leonard
Leonard is also charged with two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of abusing or desecrating a dead body, and five counts of felony discharge of a firearm. The gun charges are third-degree felonies, while the obstruction counts are second-degree felonies.
The notice filed by Gray says death is being sought on each aggravated murder count. Prosecutors have described the decision as one driven by the strength of the evidence and the interests of justice, with family input playing a role in that call.
The filing does not spell out how prosecutors intend to prove every charge, but it makes clear that authorities believe the deaths and the handling of the scene were tied together. In capital cases, Utah law requires prosecutors to notify the court when they intend to ask for the death penalty.
Police say the killings followed a night when Handricks was brought to the house
Charging documents say Johnson and Leonard picked up Handricks the night before March 20 and brought him back to the Springville residence. Investigators later pieced together what they say happened through witness accounts and digital data.
Two witnesses told police they went looking for Leonard after trying to reach him for a ride. When they got to the front door, one said he heard five gunshots. The other reported hearing loud bangs before Leonard stepped outside and spoke briefly with them.
Both witnesses told investigators they were frightened and left quickly. Those statements became part of the case prosecutors are now using to support the murder charges and the request for a death sentence.
Family report on April 6 pushed officers back to the Springville home
The investigation moved forward weeks later, when a member of Johnson’s family contacted Springville police on April 6. That relative said another family member had claimed Johnson had been shot, according to charging papers.
From there, investigators began tracing Leonard’s movements and what had happened at the home. Police said phone records showed his device was powered off for about 12 hours on March 20. They also said the phone later spent 16 hours in a remote part of Duchesne County several days afterward.
Those details became important because the victims had not been found. With no bodies recovered, detectives were forced to build the case from digital records, witness statements, and what they found during a later search.
Search warrant turned up blood spatter, shell casings and a bullet in the wall
On April 11, officers served a search warrant at the Springville house and said they found blood spatter, a bullet lodged in drywall, five empty .22-caliber shell casings and blood residue. Charging documents also described what investigators called two separate pools of blood.
Prosecutors say that evidence suggested two people suffered major injuries inside the home. The bullet and shell casings also gave investigators physical signs of gunfire that lined up with the witness accounts of shots and loud bangs.
Authorities have not said publicly where the bodies may be. But the combination of missing remains, blood evidence and firearm findings appears to be a major reason the murder charges were filed as aggravated murder rather than a lesser offense.
Questions about the victims and Leonard’s explanation to a tenant remain part of the case
Investigators also looked at what happened inside the home before the search. Leonard had recently subleased his mother’s room, and the new tenant told officers there were women’s clothes in the closet when he moved in.
According to the charges, Leonard told that tenant the clothing belonged to his mother and that she had probably overdosed and was probably dead somewhere. Prosecutors have not said that statement resolves the case, but they included it as part of the wider timeline they say points to homicide.
Sarah Johnson lived in Springville, while Handricks was from Salt Lake City. At this stage, the case remains focused on what happened in the house, where the bodies are, and whether the evidence is enough to sustain the capital charges now filed against Leonard.
Local news that matters, from Dulaney Griffin.
