SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Court of Appeals has rejected an appeal by a man accused of goading a teenage girl into suicide and filming her death.
In a unanimous ruling posted late Friday, a three judge panel rejected Tyerell Joe Przybycien's attempts to undo his sentence of five years-to-life in prison. Przybycien claimed his original lawyers did not properly advise him of his right to appeal that sentence.
"Under the circumstances of this case, Przybycien has not established that Counsel performed deficiently in not taking the initiative to consult with him concerning a potential appeal following sentencing," Judge Gregory Orme wrote.
Przybycien was originally charged with murder in the death of 16-year-old Jchandra Brown. Utah County prosecutors alleged Przybycien purchased a rope, tied a noose and filmed the girl as she took her own life in 2017 in Payson Canyon.
Prosecutors initially charged Przybycien with murder, but his attorneys argued he didn't physically kill Brown (the case led to Utah's manslaughter statute being changed to include assisting in a suicide). Przybycien ultimately pleaded guilty to child abuse homicide and he was sentenced to serve five years-to-life in prison. The judge gave Przybycien 30 days to appeal the sentence.
Earlier this year, Przybycien took his case to the Utah Court of Appeals. His attorney argued ineffective assistance of counsel at the lower court level in articulating his appellate rights. In Friday's ruling, Judge Orme wrote that Przybycien was hopeful he'd get probation instead of prison.
"...although Przybycien would have preferred probation, he was advised that such a sentence was unlikely, and his hope for probation was quite unrealistic, all things considered. Thus, this desire expressed prior to sentencing, without more, was insufficient to reasonably demonstrate to Counsel a desire to appeal," Judge Orme wrote. "More importantly, despite being informed at sentencing that he had 30 days to appeal his sentence, Przybycien did not undertake any action that would reasonably demonstrate to Counsel that he wished to file a notice of appeal."
For those struggling with thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can now be reached by simply dialing 988 any time for free support. Resources are also available online at utahsuicideprevention.org. You can also download the SafeUT app for instant, confidential crisis services.
