Son
of slain BYU professor Kay Mortensen has history of violent crime

By Paul Koepp

Deseret
News

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PAYSON — A Payson man named as a “person of interest” in the slaying of his
father has previously made violent threats against family members and others,
court documents state.

Investigators say Roger Mortensen and his wife, Pamela, have made
inconsistent statements about what happened Nov. 16, the night retired BYU
professor Kay Mortensen, 70, was found with his throat slashed in a bathtub in
his Payson Canyon home. Authorities have labeled both as persons of interest in
the homicide case.

On July 13, 1996, Roger Mortensen was driving down Mineral
Basin Road in American Fork Canyon on a four-wheeler when he passed a car full
of Boy Scouts, according to an affidavit filed in 4th District Court. For
reasons that are unclear, Mortensen became “very upset,” stopped and pulled out
a handgun, the affidavit states.

He allegedly began yelling and pointed the gun at the driver’s head. The
driver continued down to a camp near Timpanogos Cave and reported the assault to
authorities, who tracked down Mortensen and found him with the gun and a
marijuana pipe, the affidavit states.

Mortensen was charged with aggravated assault, drug possession and receiving
stolen property after detectives discovered he had a $4,000 radar unit belonging
to the Utah Highway Patrol. A prosecutor stated in court papers that Mortensen
was employed by UHP at the time, but the agency says it has no record of him
working there.

Mortensen pleaded no contest to reduced charges of theft and exhibiting a
dangerous weapon, and was given probation.

When Mortensen was charged with theft in 1997 for
allegedly helping his roommate steal dozens of tools from an Orem hardware store
where Mortensen worked as a cashier, a jury found him guilty but mentally
ill.

In a letter to the court, a therapist reported that due to a severe head
injury Mortensen suffered in a fall off a cliff in 1994, his “daily functioning”
was “extremely limited,” and going to jail would hinder his treatment.

“He remembers how he used to be and has not yet accepted his limitations,”
the letter states.

The therapist also said that when Mortensen had previously been in jail, he
was threatened and beaten by a group of inmates, and would later receive notices
when one of the inmates who had gone to prison had a parole hearing.

“This terrifies Roger,” the letter states. “He is afraid he will be killed if
he goes to jail.”

The therapist wrote that Mortensen was on medication to treat depression, and
that his condition made full-time employment difficult. Judge Steven Hansen
ultimately ruled that Mortensen was not mentally ill and sentenced him to 45
days of home confinement.