A judge on Wednesday ruled that the two defendants in the Kiplyn Davis murder case will have separate trials.

At a hearing in May, Scott C. Williams, Jeppson's attorney, argued that evidence against Olsen could prejudice a jury against his client if they were tried together. At a preliminary hearing in January, Judge Davis noted that there was significantly more evidence against Olsen than Jeppson.

In his ruling on Wednesday, Judge Davis wrote that the "immense disparity" of evidence alone was enough to justify severing the two cases.

"Mr. Jeppson may be highly prejudiced by the accumulated evidence against Mr. Olsen. The prejudice is more than a mere possibility," Judge Davis wrote.

At the preliminary hearing, seven witnesses testified that they heard Olsen admit involvement in Kiplyn's death or disappearance. Jeppson's ex-wife and an ex-girlfriend testified that he told them he was involved in Kiplyn's death, but quickly told both he was joking.

The judge cited other reasons for ordering separate trials. Both defendants have requested a change of venue, arguing that they could not receive fair trials in Utah County because of the immense media coverage the case has received over the past 13 years, as well as the outpouring of sympathy the Davis family has received.

But Jeppson and Olsen have requested different locations for their trials. Olsen wants his trial moved to Wasatch or Millard counties, while Jeppson wants to be tried in Salt Lake County. Judge Davis has not ruled on the change of venue motions.

Judge Davis also said the cases should be severed because Olsen has invoked his right to a speedy trial, while Jeppson has waived that right. In order to accommodate Olsen's decision regarding his speedy trial rights, the judge wrote, the cases should be severed.

The judge also ruled on two other motions in the case on Wednesday, denying both a motion to dismiss filed by Olsen and a motion to supplement the preliminary hearing record by prosecutors. The prosecution requested that the record be corrected to accurately reflect testimony by FBI Agent Mike Anderson about previous testimony to a grand jury in 2005. Prosecutors had said the testimony gave some people the impression that Anderson perjured himself before the grand jury.

No trial date has been set for either defendant in the murder case. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Olsen and Jeppson have both been convicted of federal perjury charges in the case, and three other men have pleaded guilty to similar charges. On Friday, Jeppson was sentenced to five years in federal prison for lying to investigators and to a federal grand jury about his whereabouts on the day Kiplyn disappeared.

Olsen was sentenced in 2006 to 12 and a half years in prison for 15 counts of perjury, while David Rucker Leifson, a third suspect who has not been charged in the murder case, was sentenced to four years in June.

• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it