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Vigil held for Mt. Pleasant woman believed murdered by fiance

Posted at 9:32 PM, Apr 06, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-06 23:32:14-04

MOUNT PLEASANT, Utah — More than 100 people showed up in Mount Pleasant City Park Thursday evening to remember a woman who police and family said died at the hands of her fiance.

At the same time, family and friends aimed to raise awareness about domestic violence.

Those who knew Kammy Edmunds dressed in purple, wearing ribbons in honor of the mother of two.

"Most outgoing, fun and amazing person," said good friend Tameron Powell, who lived across the street from Edmunds.

Edmunds' fiance, Anthony Christensen, now sits in jail as prosecutors get ready to file charges for homicide.

Pictures taped to posters showed Edmunds happy and smiling.

"All these people are here because Kammy made an impact on their life, and they all loved her," said Debbie Rocco, Edmunds' aunt.

But this loving, selfless person also hid a secret, family said, and it ultimately ended her life.

"Kammy did not speak about what was happening to her in her home," Powell said.

Rocco said Edmunds was silent about the domestic violence they now believe she dealt with at the hands of Christensen.

He isn't telling police what happened that led to her death, except to claim that she got into a car accident, and somehow ended up breathless on the bathroom floor of their house.

"It hurts that he won't give the family closure and the answers," Powell said. "It hurts that he won't give the friends and the family the information they want and need... Why?"

According to court documents, Christensen told police he discovered Edmunds dead in their home, and said he felt, "there has been a traffic accident that caused Edmunds death (sic)."

Police later tracked down Edmunds' car off the road in a drainage five miles away from her house.

But the documents state the evidence points to murder.

"The cause of death is multiple blunt force trauma concentrated to the head," the charging affidavit says.

It later states, "The damage to the vehicle is not consistent with damage that would result in the death of person (sic)."

And that in the house, "there were marks on the flooring that suggested a person was dragged across the area."

Blood stains soaked through the carpet, according to documents, with evidence, "indicating an attempt to clean the staining had occurred."

Police recommended Christensen be charged with felony counts of homicide, obstruction of justice and desecration of a body.

A judge set his bail at $500,000.

"It's really unfortunate that this is how you bring about awareness," said Chenille Hutto, who spoke at Thursday's vigil.

Hutto serves as a victim advocate for the New Horizons Crisis Center, a domestic violence shelter in Sanpete County.

"There's help, there's resources, there are agencies that are designed specifically for this, to get women and children to safety," Hutto said.

Edmunds' family said they hoped the vigil could help save someone else, and stop another family from the same suffering.

"This is something that no family should have to ever go through," Rocco said.