Idaho Man Convicted in 1984 Murder of 12-Year-Old Colorado Girl
Idaho State Police identify man in 1984 conviction for the murder of 12-year-old Aiyana Jones.
Associated Press
Posted: 08/03/2014 04:01:37 PM MDT
Updated: 08/03/2014 05:27:40 PM MDT
State police identify man in 1984 conviction for the murder of 12-year-old Aiyana Jones.
Idaho State Police identify man in 1984 conviction for the murder of 12-year-old Aiyana Jones. (Idaho State Police)
IDAHO (AP) – A man convicted for the 1984 murder of 12-year-old Aiyana Jones was sentenced Monday to death by lethal injection.
The Idaho court clerk said the judge, who was not identified in court records, ordered the execution of 52-year-old Roger Dale Peterson, who has been in custody since his arrest in 2013.
The execution was delayed until Tuesday for a scheduling reason, officials said.
Jones’ family members said that Peterson, who has a history of mental illness and alcohol abuse, was not the primary killer of Aiyana. Peterson had previously been convicted of child molestation and attempted murder.
Peterson and Aiyana’s cousin, Kody Harp, testified during his preliminary hearing, and Kody said Peterson had tried to kill him by stabbing him in the arm.
Both men are also accused of murdering Jones and of threatening other family members.
Harp said Peterson had previously tried to sexually assault Kody at the family cabin and said he attacked the two children because they would not allow him to come into their room.
Kody, who was 13 at the time of the attack in 1984, testified at preliminary hearings in 2005 and 2009.
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When asked why he waited for police to talk to Aiyana for more than 20 years before reporting the attack, Kody said he did not want to alarm her family and did not know she was at the cabin. He also did not know what Peterson had done to her.
Peterson was on probation for a