Shivangi Sinha
In November 2009, Roger and Pam Mortensen called the police in Payson, Utah, to report that Roger’s father, Kay Mortensen, had been killed. When detectives arrived at the scene, they were told that Roger and Pam had been tied up by two men and, after being released, had discovered Kay’s remains in the bathtub. Initially, police focused their investigation on the son and daughter-in-law who had reported the crime, but it soon became clear that there was more to the story. ID’s ‘Signs of a Psychopath’, particularly the episode ‘He Got Such a Rush From It’, details the case and traces how the perpetrators were eventually brought to justice.
Kay Mortensen’s Remains Were Found By His Kids Who had Come to Visit Him
Kay Sherman Mortensen was born on July 6, 1939, to Sherman and Roxie Mortensen. He was their first child, and his siblings, Roxane, Neil, Lee, and Fern, soon joined the family. They owned a farm in Ephraim, Utah, where Kay grew up developing a deep appreciation for rural life. He enjoyed raising sheep, hunting, and working on farm equipment, and his passion eventually grew into a professional career. Kay attended Snow College before enrolling at Utah State University. He later pursued a PhD in metallurgy at the University of Utah. He went on to become a faculty member at Brigham Young University, where he taught courses in manufacturing design, engineering technology, and mechanical engineering.
Kay spent approximately 37 years working as a professor. He built a long career in education alongside his personal life. He married Hermona Anderson, and the couple had four children: Roger, Julie, Janet, and Paul. Their marriage eventually ended in separation, and Kay later found love again with Darla Pectol Jones. The two settled in Payson, Utah, where they led an active, community-oriented life. In 2008, Kay and Darla embarked on a mission for the LDS Church at the Cove Fort Historical Site as part of the Utah Provo Mission. They served as missionaries together until late October 2009, when they were both released from their assignments.
At around 7 pm on November 16, 2009, Kay’s son, Roger Mortensen, and his daughter-in-law, Pam, arrived at his home to play board games, bringing a pie with them. Meanwhile, Darla had gone to visit her daughter in Salt Lake County and was driving back home. Roger and Pam called 911, reporting that two men had tied them up when they arrived at the house. After managing to free themselves, they went inside and found Kay lying in the bathtub. His throat had been cut, and he had already passed away.
Kay Mortensen’s Killers Were Only Caught After Two People Were Wrongly Suspected
The first people detectives interviewed were Roger and Pam Mortensen, as they had been present at the crime scene. In August 2010, the two were charged with the murder. Investigators said the timeline they had provided contained several inconsistencies, raising suspicions about their account of what had happened. A grand jury subsequently indicted them to stand trial, and they spent around four months behind bars. However, a breakthrough in the case came in December 2010, when a woman named Rachel Bingham came forward with information. She alleged that her husband, Martin Bond, and another man, Benjamin Rettig, were responsible for the crime.
On December 7, 2010, Roger and Pam were cleared of all charges, while Martin Bond and Benjamin Rettig were arrested. During a search of Bond’s house, police recovered weapons that had been reported missing from Mortensen’s home. Bond reportedly admitted to being at the house on the night of the murder and confessed to tying up Roger and Pam. He also told investigators that he had buried some of the stolen weapons, leading them to a site where approximately 14 firearms were dug up. According to reports, Bond said that he and Rettig had been short on money and targeted Mortensen’s home because they knew he had a large collection of firearms.
Bond claimed that their intention had been to carry out a robbery and that they had not planned to kill anyone. He also accused Rettig of cutting Mortensen’s throat. During the investigation, detectives recovered the victim’s driver’s license from the house. Prosecutors argued that the two men had planned the crime several days in advance. According to court records, they knew Mortensen because Bond’s father and the victim were good friends. Bond also admitted that he had previously been inside Mortensen’s home and knew about his extensive firearms collection. Both men were charged with aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, and aggravated kidnapping.
Martin Bond and Benjamin Rettig Are Behind Bars in Utah Today
In June 2011, Benjamin Rettig pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and aggravated kidnapping. He was sentenced in December that year to 25 years to life for aggravated murder and 15 years to life for aggravated kidnapping, with the sentences to run concurrently. Martin Bond went to trial in January 2013, but Rettig refused to testify against him despite the conditions of his plea deal. Bond was found guilty of aggravated murder, three counts of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, and aggravated robbery. In March 2013, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In 2014, Rettig was convicted of obstructing justice for refusing to testify against Bond. He is currently held at the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison, Utah, with his parole hearing scheduled for 2035. Bond is also incarcerated at the same facility. In 2015, his appeal against the conviction was rejected by the Utah Supreme Court.
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