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Tampering with evidence charges added to case of teen accused of assisting, recording Utah girl’s suicide

Posted at 11:25 AM, Sep 28, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-28 13:29:51-04

PROVO, Utah — Two third-degree felony counts of tampering with a witness have been filed against a teenager accused of assisting in and video recording a girl’s suicide in Payson Canyon.

19-year-old Tyerell Przybycien already faces a first-degree felony charge of murder in the death of 16-year-old Jchandra Brown.

He’s accused of helping her commit suicide by hanging in Payson Canyon in May of 2017.

His trial is scheduled for Dec. 5 when he will also face a class B misdemeanor charge of abuse or desecration of a dead human body.

The tampering charges are related to a letter Przybycien wrote to his friend, “W,” from the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork on or about Sept. 9, 2018.

Contents of the note are included in a probable cause statement with the charging documents.

“Because trial is coming, I hear the prosecuters (sic) have been vexing you. I will encourage you to use your right to remain silent as Anything
YOU say is Held against ME in court. On that note, it would help my case if you’d inform Everyone — that is subject to interrigation (sic) — to use their right to remain silent. That includes: K.T., T.M., You, A.T., A.N., and anyone that Associated with me. I do not know what else they want — I already told everything. Its (sic) as if the Prosecuter (sic) is wanting one of you to “slip” and give him more “incriminating” evidence. So tell everyone, if the Athourites (sic) approach them, to not speak with them.”

The PC statement states that W and K.T. are material witnesses for the state and testified at the preliminary hearings and that the state will contact them and others possibly identified in the letter.

The documents indicate that Przybycien may have misunderstood the law when he wrote the letter but points out that ignorance or mistake of law is not a defense unless certain conditions apply, none of which exist here.