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Martin C.Bond, charged with aggravated murder of BYU professor Kay Mortensen, appears in court in American Fork, Utah, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

Jeffrey D. Allred

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Benjamin D. Rettig, charged with aggravated murder of BYU professor Kay Mortensen, appears in court in American Fork, Utah, Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

Jeffrey D. Allred

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Defense Attorney Ronald Yengich, center, and defendant Martin Bond, right, appear in court for a hearing regarding the murder case of Kay Mortensen Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2010 at the American Fork Fourth District Courthouse. ANDREW VAN WAGENEN/Daily Herald

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Defense Attorney Mike Esplin, center, and defendant Benjamin Rettig, right, appear in court for a hearing regarding the murder case of Kay Mortensen Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2010 at the American Fork Fourth District Courthouse. ANDREW VAN WAGENEN/Daily Herald

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Attorneys have been assigned to two Vernal men accused of killing former BYU professor Kay Mortensen.

Martin Bond and Benjamin Rettig are charged with the Nov. 16, 2009, slaying, but had been without lawyers since their arrest because all qualified public defenders had a conflict of interest in the case. As of a hearing on Tuesday, Bond will be represented by Ronald Yengich and Rettig will be represented by Mike Esplin. Both attorneys work in private law firms but have been contracted by the state to represent the men. Yengich and Esplin said they were still reviewing details of the case, and neither offered information about defense strategies.

Bond and Rettig were arrested early in December, dramatically altering the case surrounding Mortensen’s death. Authorities had originally charged Roger and Pamela Mortensen, Kay Mortensen’s son and daughter-in-law, with the killing. On the night of the murder, Roger and Pamela said they were at Kay Mortensen’s 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.

After learning of Bond and Rettig from a tip, police went to Vernal and arrested the men. Roger and Pamela have since been released from jail, but having new suspects meant that new defense attorneys who had not previously worked on the case were needed.

Finding those attorneys took time because Bond and Rettig could face the death penalty and only some lawyers are qualified to work in cases where death is a possible sentence.

Bond and Rettig are currently being held on $1 million bail each. Their next court appearance is set for Jan. 18.