A Utah teenager is accused of encouraging a friend to kill herself, buying her the materials to do so and then filming the 16-year-old girl’s suicide on a cellphone.
Helping her would be like getting away with murder, Tyerell Przybycien had texted a friend weeks before Jchandra Brown’s hanging death in May.
Utah County prosecutors allege that Przybycien’s actions in helping Brown plan her death in a wooded area in Payson Canyon were, in fact, criminal — and the 18-year-old is now charged with first-degree felony murder, as well as a misdemeanor count for failure to report a dead body. Przybycien’s attorneys argue in court papers that it was ultimately Brown’s own choice to commit suicide.
Attorneys are expected to argue Tuesday whether there is sufficient evidence for 4th District Judge James Brady to move the case forward past a preliminary hearing to trial.
Przybycien’s attorneys, Neil Skousen and Gregory Stewart, argue in court papers that while their client may have provided the materials for Brown’s suicide, the girl ultimately made the decision to kill herself — and could have changed her mind at any time.
She chose to climb on a makeshift rock pedestal and place the noose around her neck, they argued. And it was her choice, they said, to take a hit from a can of compressed air, which caused her to pass out, slip from the rocks, and hang herself.
“If the person backs out of their own plan of suicide and the person aiding them takes over and facilitates those direct and overt actions, then murder may be an appropriate charge,” the defense attorneys wrote. “Evidence indicates these last acts happened rather quickly, [Przybycien] was trying to ask her if she was certain she wanted to do this, but could not because it happened so quickly.”
Prosecutors argue that while Brown was suicidal, she was “malleable and otherwise impressionable.” Without Przybycien’s help — which included buying the rope, tying a noose and setting up the pedestal for her to stand on — Brown likely would not have died that night, Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander wrote in court papers.
In addition, Przybycien deceived Brown, Grunander argued, by telling her that he would kill himself after her. And he bragged to others before her death that he was going to “help kill” Brown, the prosecutor wrote.
In court papers, Grunander compared Przybycien’s case to a recent Massachusetts one in which a woman was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for instructing her boyfriend to kill himself via text messages when she was 17 years old. Like Michelle Carter’s case, Grunander argued that the case in Utah did not involve someone suffering from a terminal disease and wanting to end their life — which may have minimized the defendant’s actions.
Several states have assisted-suicide laws, which usually legalize a terminally ill patient to seek life-ending medication from a physician. Utah has no such regulation.
Paul Cassell, a University of Utah law professor and former federal judge, said the outcome of Przybycien’s case will likely set a precedent in the state.
“We don’t have clear laws on [assisted suicide] boundaries right now,” he said.
Attorneys on both sides in Przybycien’s case referenced a New Mexico Court of Appeals opinion in their arguments, which analyzed the difference between assisted suicide and committing murder. The high court there found that it turns on whether a person “actively assisted” in another’s death.
“It hinges on [whether someone] actively participates and actively causes a death,” Cassell said, “rather than just providing the materials.”
Whether there is a motive for wanting a person dead — such as prosecutors accusation that Przybycien wanted to watch someone die to satisfy his own curiosities about death — doesn’t necessarily mean the actions are criminal. While presenting motive helps a prosecutor’s case, Cassell said, it’s not a necessary element that must be proven to find someone guilty.
Judge Brady must find whether there is “probable cause” for the case to move forward — a much lower standard than “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” required by a jury at trial. He must also look at the evidence in a light that is most favorable to prosecutors.
Przybycien’s case is not the only pending Utah case that brings into question whether assisting someone in a suicide is criminal. In Logan’s 1st District Court, a woman has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly trying to help another woman kill herself by giving her pills to overdose.
Teresa Clark, 36, faces three counts of first-degree felony attempted murder, accused of trying to help 55-year-old Karma Saltern kill herself earlier this year. Prosecutors say she had power of attorney for the alleged victim and would have gotten all of her belongings if she had died.
Clark’s preliminary hearing was recently delayed after Saltern committed suicide in September. A court docket entry notes that there is “no causal connection” between Clark and Saltern’s death.
Defense attorney Michael McGinnis said recently that while he doesn’t believe his client should be charged with attempted murder, arguments to the judge will likely be different than those in Przybycien’s case: Clark will assert that she never gave the pills to the alleged victim as prosecutors allege.
People who have suicidal thoughts can call 1-800-273-TALK(8255) or visit the Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition’s website for help. A smartphone application called SafeUT also allows users to chat or call a crisis counselor, and submit tips.