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Person of interest in teen’s murder charged in separate case

Posted at 5:47 PM, May 01, 2012
and last updated 2012-05-02 10:23:41-04

DRAPER -- A person of interest in a Draper homicide is being charged in another case where a woman was kidnapped and beaten.

Daniel Ferry allegedly kidnapped and beat another woman the same day 15-year-old Annie Kasprzak went missing in March.

Ferry has been in jail for more than a month now, yet formal charges in Kasprzak’s murder have not yet been filed and there is no sign it is going to happen any time soon. But since his arrest, Ferry has been charged with other serious felonies, including those filed Tuesday.

"Our office was presented with materials and information to screen against Daniel Ferry involving aggravated kidnapping and witness tampering,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill

On Saturday, March 10, police say Ferry punched the victim in the head and knocked her out. Police say that when the victim woke up, she was at another home, her head had been shaved and she was being used as a human dart board. She claims the 12-hour ordeal was all carried out by orders from Daniel Ferry.

"[Ferry allegedly] participated in abducting a person, brutally beating her up and then throwing darts at her,” said Gill.

March 10 is significant because it is also the last time anyone saw Annie Kasprzak alive.

Annie allegedly went to a party that night attended by Ferry and Veanuia Vehekite. Witnesses tell police Ferry first beat the girl before he and Vehekite wrapped her in a tarp and took her from the home.

Ferry’s mother denies there ever being a party at her house, where police say Kasprzak was taken.

"There was no party here or in the garage," said Loris Ferry in an earlier interview with FOX 13.

Annie’s badly beaten body was found the next day in the Jordan River.

Both Ferry and Vehekite were later arrested by Draper Police, but formal charges have yet to be filed.

Ferry’s family cites the absence of murder charges and says he is innocent.

"She's like 15 years old we hear, Daniel is like 31, he's happily married and he doesn't run with 15-year-olds,” said Ferry’s mother.

But the new kidnapping charges should keep Ferry off the streets and allow detectives to keep working on the Kasprzack murder.

"When Draper Police is ready to present us with the materials necessary for us to do our job as public prosecutors and screen that, then we'll do our due diligence and give it the critical appraisal it needs to get done,” says Gill.

Ferry has an added $500,000 bail to his already long list of felony charges, which include drug distribution.

Meanwhile, the victim in the kidnapping and witness tampering case says Ferry left her with a chilling message before letting her go, allegedly saying he would hurt her family and kill her if she told anyone.