A grieving Utah father has revealed the terrifying last words he shared with his daughter before she was shot by two people who mistakenly believed she was stalking them.
Waylon Dutton, 31, told KayLee Dutton, 17, to “Be careful” as she left the family home for the last time on Jan. 17.
In an interview with Fox13, Dutton talked about how his wife Kimberlee asked their daughter where she was going. 'Don't know. We're going to look for something,” she replied.
KayLee planned to “drive around with friends” when she was a kid followed, chased and shot twelve times by two young drug users.
The 17-year-old was hit at least once by a .223 caliber bullet, causing her to crash her brand new red pickup truck into a fence.
She was then taken to Cedar City Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Ethan Galloway and Michael Hess-Witucki, both 23, have since been charged with murder and 12 felony counts of discharging a firearm.
Iron County Sheriff Ken Carpenter said the couple admitted their role in KayLee's death and Galloway wrote a letter to her family explaining his actions.
Waylon Dutton, 31, shared the last words he said to his daughter, KayLee Dutton, 17, as she left their home on Jan. 17. In the photo: parents Waylon Dutton and Kimberlee Dutton
KayLee Dutton, 17, left her home in Escalante on Jan. 17 to “drive around with friends” when she was followed, chased and shot 12 times by two young men who thought she was stalking them
“Both suspects admitted that their actions resulted in serious bodily injury and death of the victim,” an arrest affidavit said.
“Their justification for pursuing the victim's vehicle was that they believed they had observed it before [it] in their neighborhood and suspected that the residents were [stalking] them.
“At the end of the interview, Ethan wrote a letter of apology to the victim's parents, describing the reason why he chased the victim's car and shot the victim.”
Galloway and Hess-Witucki spotted KayLee's car near their apartment block and chased him in a black 2018 Chevrolet Silverado, the car's high beams flashing.
KayLee and her 18-year-old friend saw the pickup following them and drove nearly six miles north and then west out of town.
Hess-Witucki pulled up next to them just before the intersection of Midvalley Road and 4300 W and Galloway sprayed the car with bullets.
KayLee's friend survived with only a leg injury. The unknown passenger called 911 at 10:32 p.m. The audio of the call shows that first responders arrived on scene 20 minutes later.
A local SWAT team arrested Galloway and Hess-Witucki outside their home the next day around 5:45 p.m.
The couple's two other roommates, Aldric Felipe, 21, and Matthew Sorber-Petrie, 22, were also charged in connection with the murder.
The 17-year-old was hit at least once by a .223 caliber bullet, causing her to crash her brand new red pickup truck into a fence. She was then taken to Cedar City Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Pictured: KayLee Dutton's red pickup at the scene of the accident
Ethan Galloway and Michael Hess-Witucki, both 23, have since been charged with murder and 12 felony counts of discharging a firearm
All four suspects have been charged with obstruction of justice in connection with the alleged murder and with possession of a controlled substance. They are being held without bail at the Iron County Jail following their Jan. 18 arrest. Pictured: Aldric Felipe (top left), Ethan Galloway (top right), Michael Hess-Witucki (bottom left) and Matthew Sorber-Petrie (bottom right)
“I've said this before and I'll say it until the day I die that she saved me,” KayLee's mother, Kimberlee Dutton, told Fox13. Pictured: KayLee Dutton
Sorber-Petrie admitted to giving Galloway the gun, knowing it would be used to confront the alleged “stalker,” and Felipe stayed home but knew about the plan and what happened during the shooting.
All four suspects were charged with obstruction of justice in connection with the alleged murder and possession of a controlled substance. They are being held without bail at the Iron County Jail following their Jan. 18 arrest.
Police found mushroom fumes, marijuana fumes and other drug paraphernalia in the home during a search, prompting the drug charges.
Detectives identified the suspect based on a description of the car by the surviving teen and used surveillance footage to place it at the scene.
Officers also found the gun and ammunition that matched the one used to kill KayLee.
Kimberlee Dutton, 33, KayLee's mother, claimed her daughter “saved her life” and compared their close bond to that of the Gilmore Girls – a popular American drama that tells the story of a unique mother-daughter relationship.
“I was a baby having a baby, and we grew up together,” Kimberlee told Fox13. “She taught me things, I taught her things, and from day one it's been just me and her.”
“I've said this before and I'll keep saying it until the day I die, that she saved me,” she added.
Kimberlee Dutton, 33, KayLee's mother, claimed her daughter “saved her life” and compared their close bond to that of the Gilmore Girls – a popular American drama that tells the story of a unique mother-daughter relationship. Pictured: KayLee and Kimberlee Dutton
The distraught parents said they “looked up to” their fearless daughter, who graduated from Canyon View High School a year early, was a member of her school's football team and even served a stint as a bull rider. Pictured: A young KayLee Dutton gets on a motorcycle
Kimberlee said her daughter's death didn't feel real. “Maybe she's driving, or she's in her truck driving around somewhere,” Kimberlee said through tears
The distraught parents said they “looked up to” their intrepid daughter, who graduated from Canyon View High School a year early, was a member of her school's softball and soccer teams and even served a brief stint as a bull rider.
“I looked up to her a lot because she was so driven,” Kimberlee said. 'Anything she set her mind to, she went for it. She accomplished it. She did it.'
Waylon and Kimberlee said that sometimes their daughter's death doesn't even “feel real.”
“We just sit here on the couch and look out the window and wait for her to come home,” Waylon said.
“Maybe she's driving, or she's in her truck driving around somewhere,” Kimberlee said through tears.