WEST JORDAN, Utah -- Bill Robert Thompson is charged with 14 different counts, including murder, and on Thursday the judge set his bail at $1 million.
Thompson came into the courtroom in handcuffs and shackles and showed little emotion as he went before a judge.
The state has charged Thompson with first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, seven counts of DUI, two counts of assault and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
On May 8, police said Thompson deliberately ran a red light at 123rd south and Lone Peak Parkway. His white pickup crashed into six cars, including one carrying 43-year-old Susan Madsen and her 13-year-old daughter Tessa. Susan died at the scene. Tessa suffered critical injuries. Four other people were also hurt.
Investigators said that, not only was Thompson intoxicated at the time of the crash, but just minutes earlier he had fled a domestic dispute.
“As a murder charge this is something up to life tops, which is a very serious allegation, and it's a very serious event that happened and we're treating it with the kind of concern and due diligence that it deserves,” said Sim Gill, who is the Salt Lake County district attorney.
Thompson is scheduled to appear in court again June 10 in West Jordan.
