Bail set for two men charged in Mortensen murder
PROVO — A judge set bail Wednesday morning for two men charged with killing a former BYU professor.
Martin Bond, 23, and Benjamin Rettig, 23, both of Vernal, were arrested in the death of Kay Mortensen and booked into the Utah County Jail Tuesday night. They appeared Wednesday morning in Provo before Judge David Mortensen via closed circuit TV from the Utah County Jail. Judge Mortensen found probable cause to hold both suspects and set their bail at $1 million each, cash only. According to Utah County Prosecutor Tim Taylor, Bond and Rettig will be charged with aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and aggravated kidnapping.
As a result of their capture, murder charges have been dropped against Kay Mortensen’s son Roger, and Roger’s wife Pamela. Pamela was released from the Utah County Jail early Wednesday afternoon. Roger still faces federal charges related to firearm possession and will be transported to the Weber County Jail within the next few days.
Bond and Rettig were arrested in Vernal. During their bail hearing, Bond said that he had lived in Vernal for most of his life. Rettig said that he had lived in Vernal off and on for the past 15 years.
Taylor said that one of the suspect’s fathers may have known Kay Mortensen, and as a result he may have visited the home before. Taylor also said that neither suspect has a past criminal history.
“I’ve prosecuted a number of homicides,” Taylor said Wednesday afternoon, “and just in my experience I’ve never seen it where you have no criminal history at all and then go right to homicide. It happens, but it’s rare.”
Authorities learned of the two men after receiving a tip over the weekend. Based on that tip, investigators went to Vernal on Monday and obtained a search warrant for a residence there. After searching the home, authorities found weapons taken from Kay Mortensen’s home. They then contacted Martin Bond, who admitted that he had been at Mortensen’s home on the night of the murder, and that he was involved in the killing. He also admitted to zip-tying the hands of two individuals who arrived at the Mortensen residence that night and holding those individuals against their will.
During the investigation, Bond said that he had buried weapons he took from Kay Mortensen with the hope of avoiding capture. Bond also showed detectives the site of the buried weapons, and when investigators dug at that site they discovered 14 firearms including shotguns, rifles and handguns. Investigators also found weapons in his possession with scratched out serial numbers, and others in a septic tank at a Vernal park.
While in Vernal, authorities also contacted and interviewed Ben Rettig, who admitted to being involved in the murder and burglary. He had possession of a driver’s license belonging to Roger Mortensen. He also said that he detained two individuals at Mortensen’s home during the burglary and after Kay Mortensen’s throat had been cut.
According to police reports, Bond and Rettig discussed committing the burglary a day or two before it took place and believed that they could steal weapons worth $20,000-$30,000. Bond told authorities that Rettig had cut Mortensen’s throat and stabbed him in the back, then said something about a gladiator. Rettig, however, stated that Bond was responsible for cutting Mortensen’s throat and stabbing him.
Based on these events, authorities now believe that they have Kay Mortensen’s killers in custody.
“This is a huge paradigm shift for us,” Taylor said of their capture. “This came out of the blue.”
Authorities had originally charged Roger and Pamela Mortensen with the Nov. 16, 2009 killing. On the night of the murder, Roger and Pamela said they were at the home and walked into a robbery in which three men tied them up. They indicated in a 911 call that they found Kay’s lifeless body with his throat slit. However, county prosecutors decided to take the case to the grand jury. The couple were arrested on July 29 after being indicted by the grand jury. Among other evidence, prosecutors cited numerous inconsistencies in Roger and Pamela’s account of the incident. However, Taylor said that Bond and Rettig instructed Roger and Pam to tell authorities a story, which may help explain why authorities now only have two people in custody.
“We feel pretty confident that there was no one else,” Taylor said. “The individuals, when they went into the house, told Roger and Pam to tell a story, and part of that story was to say there was three individuals.”
Prosecutors now believe that there is evidence to support the couple’s account of the incident and plan to use the couple in the case against Bond and Rettig.
“Roger and Pam are going to be our witnesses now,” Taylor said.
Fern Caka, Kay Mortensen’s younger sister, attended Bond’s and Rettig’s bail hearing. Following the hearing, Caka expressed relief that Roger and Pamela were no longer implicated in the crime.
“We are just so happy,” Caka said. “This is the best possible resolution other than finding Kay alive. It’s going to be a lot of healing.”
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