CACHE COUNTY, Utah — Police gave an update Saturday afternoon on the case of a body that was found in Logan Canyon.
The Cache County Sheriff's Office said someone walking in the Franklin Basin area Friday morning found the body and notified officials.
Saturday's update identified the victim as 77-year-old Dennis Shaw, a resident of Logan. They said investigators determined that his death was a homicide.
Police said Shaw had stab wounds on his chest. His body was taken to the State Medical Examiner's Office, where the official cause of his death will be determined.
After serving search warrants on two homes and multiple vehicles, the sheriff's office said they arrested the victim's son, 33-year-old Clayton Robert Shaw, who now faces murder charges.
In the arrest report, police said Dennis Shaw's body appeared to have been moved to the spot where it was found. They determined this based on his clothing, drag marks, a lack of blood, and the fact that his vehicle was not there. The place in the canyon where he was found is about 25 miles from his house, police said.
When investigators checked local records and interviewed people connected to the Shaws, they found that the father and son had been in a dispute recently. In July, Dennis reportedly evicted Clayton from his property. In that same month, Dennis reported two domestic violence incidents at the hands of his son.
Earlier this month, a roommate of Clayton's called the police and said she was scared of Clayton, adding that he had paranoia and carried a gun.
An employee of Dennis' business told police that they hadn't been able to get in touch with Dennis since Thursday afternoon. They also said the employees and Dennis were worried about Clayton's declining mental state, and how he had threatened to hurt his father at some point.
While they waited for a search warrant, detectives staked out Dennis' house on Sumac Drive. On Friday afternoon, they saw Clayton arrive at the house, walk up to the door and knock. He then got back in his car and drove away. Officers then pulled him over and took him into custody. They said he had a knife in his possession that matched the size of the stab wounds, and there was a red dot on the handle that appeared to be blood.
They added that Dennis' dog was with Clayton in the car. Dennis' employees had told police that Dennis kept his dog with him day and night and they would not expect him to ever let Clayton take him.
Investigators obtained a search warrant on Clayton's car, during which they said they found an empty bottle of Lysol hydrogen peroxide cleaner. According to the arrest report, they found drops of blood in the trunk that tested positive for human blood. There was also a bloody fingerprint near the bumper.
Police added that the items in the trunk were pushed to the sides, with the center area completely clear.
During an interview with Clayton, police said they noticed he had cuts on his thumb and fingers that appeared fresh.
Clayton told police that he was supposed to meet up with his dad to get some money, but he said his dad just came to his apartment and dropped off his dog around 6 p.m. on Thursday. He claimed that he went to his dad's house around 8 or 9 p.m., then returned home around 10 p.m. However, his roommates said they never saw a dog there, and Clayton left the apartment around 6-7 p.m. They said they didn't hear from him that night or before they left around 6 a.m. Friday morning.
Police noted that calls to Dennis' cell phone went straight to voicemail, and the most recent "ping" was Thursday at 7:15 p.m.
According to the report, Clayton was told at the beginning of his interview that Dennis had died. But, they said, he never asked how his dad died or what happened. When asked directly if he stabbed his father, he denied it.
Clayton is being held without bail.
The case is still being investigated. The sheriff's office is also asking the public for any information they have that could help with the investigation, including information on the suspect's black BMW or the victim’s white Ford F-150.
