Man who killed woman found in Logan Canyon re-sentenced to up to life in prison — (The Herald Journal)

Robert Ferretti, 46, pleaded guilty to the killing of 33-year-old Tiffany Britt Jarmon in January 2010 and was sentenced to spend 15 years to life in the Utah State Prison. The Salt Lake City woman’s body was discovered in Logan Canyon several days after she died.

Ferretti immediately appealed his case, because at the time of sentencing he had made a verbal request to withdraw his guilty plea — and his request was denied.

The Utah State Court of Appeals vacated his sentence and required the 1st District Court in Logan to provide Ferretti with the opportunity to withdraw his guilty plea.

Ferretti submitted a written request to the court, saying he was he was under the influence of Effexor, an antidepressant, therefore he did not believe his plea was offered knowingly and willingly.

In addition, Ferretti maintains that the killing was not premeditated murder.

“No one was there but me, so who can say what was inside my head but me,” he said in court Tuesday. “I will not ever admit that I knowingly and intentionally took Ms. Jarmon’s life because that didn’t happen.”

Judge Kevin K. Allen denied his original request because the court had previously asked if the plea was given freely and voluntarily, and Ferretti had said then it was.

At the time of sentencing, it is customary for the judge to ask the defendant if he or she is offering the plea freely and voluntarily, and if the plea is given because the facts were given as they occurred.

The court denied Ferretti’s second request, and sentencing was set for Tuesday.

Ferretti’s attorney, Bryan Galloway, said the killing was not premeditated, but rather a drug and alcohol fueled situation that ended with Jarmon’s death. He added that there are parts of the incident Ferretti does not remember.

However, Cache County Attorney James Swink said he believes Jarmon’s death was nothing more than “methodical, planned-out, cold-blooded murder.”

Allen did not appear moved by Ferretti’s request or his comments in court Tuesday. He remarked that Ferretti spent five minutes talking about why he should be able to withdraw his plea, but he said he never heard Ferretti “accepting responsibility or apologizing for taking another person’s daughter out of this world.”

Ferretti was again sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, without credit for time served, and without any hope of a recommendation for parole from the judge.

Jarmon’s body was found in November 2008, where it had been dumped near the Birch Glen summer home area in Logan Canyon.

A fisherman found her body one to two weeks after her death. Four months later, police arrested Ferretti and prosecutors charged him with homicide, a first-degree felony.