United States of America

TUTTLE
Wesley Allen

Active from 1982-1983 in Idaho and Utah

DID YOU KNOW...

Corrupt Fact

Tuttle received help to evade capture, a number of times

Tired Fact

Tuttle went to sleep in his truck cab after killing Merrick

Mental Fact

One witness was hypnotized, allowing room for Tuttle to appeal

THE DISPATCH

The Beginning

Wesley Allen Tuttle was a long haul trucker who got away with murder once, and was brazen enough to try it again. He had a record of grand larceny, burglary and escape from prison. It took 25 years, but DNA testing on the remains of a 14-year-old girl allowed investigators to charge Tuttle with his second murder.

The Murders

Lisa Lynne Chambers

Lisa Lynne Chambers was developmentally delayed. On November 10, 1982, the 14-year-old girl was picked up by Tuttle while on her way to school. He abducted, sexually assaulted and strangled her with her own shoelace. He then dumped her body. On November 15, Chambers’s school books were found in a trash bin at a truck stop in Boise, near I84.

Pheasant hunters walking near Five Mile and Lake Hazel Roads cut through a field of corn. They stumbled on the body of Lisa Chambers. She was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing when she disappeared.

A witness reported seeing Chambers with a man at the Western Idaho Fairgrounds. The witness even provided police with the license plate number of Tuttle’s truck. After an initial investigation, police dismissed Tuttle as a suspect. The Fairgrounds were a significant distance from Chambers’s route to school, and Tuttle had no connection to the family. The witness would develop dementia before Tuttle was tried in Chambers’s death.

Sidney Ann Merrick

Sidney Ann Merrick (often misspelled as Sydney), was stabbed to death on September 26, 1983. She was found in her white Datsun with numerous stab wounds to her chest and throat. Her legs were hanging out the passenger side door. Her finger nails were bent backwards after she struggled with her assailant. Pieces of a blue t-shirt were found under her nails.

Witnesses described a black one-ton truck with a thirty-foot trailer towing Merrick’s car toward where she was found. Police speculated at the time that her car may have overheated. They put out a bulletin, looking for the 1-ton truck and its trailer. On October 5, 1983, an arrest warrant was issued for Wesley Allen Tuttle.

Arrest & Trial

Tuttle Arrested by FBI

Tuttle turned himself in. He was picked up by the FBI on October 7 in Spokane, Washington. It was for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He was extradited on October 25th to Utah to face charges.

Tuttle on Trial

Tuttle went on trial for Merrick’s murder in April 17, 1984. He denied killing her. He said he was napping in his truck, and when he awoke, he found Merrick’s car parked behind him. She was dead, and he fled the scene. It was noted that Merrick worked for Tuttle’s brother. Police said she was raped, but the medical examiner could not confirm it. Tuttle was found guilty of murdering Merrick on April 25, 1984. Almost a month later, on May 21, 1984, he received a life sentence.

Tuttle Escapes Custody

Tuttle subsequently escaped. On August 21, 1984 he walked out the front door with 2 other prisoners. He was recaptured in Nevada on February 7, 1985.

Tuttle Wins Appeal

Tuttle appealed his conviction, as many murderers do. There were three reasons for appeal, including hypnosis. One of the many witnesses who testified they saw him with Merrick, had been hypnotized. His defense team claimed it rendered the testimony unreliable.

Tuttle also appealed the finding of first-degree (her murder was considered heinous because of the multiple stabbings) instead of second-degree (not heinous, not premeditated).

On April 12, 1989, the Supreme Court of Utah ruled that Tuttle’s conviction of first-degree murder be vacated. A finding of second-degree murder was to be substituted without a new trial.

Authorities still had no idea he had murdered Chambers.

DNA Testing

Prisoners, based on their crimes, are required to submit a DNA sample. The DNA data is uploaded to a system which can compare the DNA of the prisoner to DNA found at crime scenes. This allows law enforcement to match potential assailants to unsolved crimes. It can be a first step toward gathering evidence to prosecute a cold case. DNA from the Chambers 1982 rape and murder scene was submitted in March, 2007.

Idaho police informed Utah police that there was a DNA match. By August, 2007, Tuttle was under investigation for Chambers’s murder, 25 years earlier.

Another Life Sentence

On August 4, 2008, Tuttle was charged with the murder of Chambers. As part of a plea agreement that removed the death penalty, he pled guilty and received a fixed life term at the same time.

Tuttle’s Location

As of July 2021, Wesley Allen Tuttle remains in a Utah prison.

SIMILAR SERIAL KILLERS

Paul Ezra Rhoades

Rhoades also chose Idaho and Utah as his killing grounds

David William Shearing

Shearing and Tuttle were both convicted in April, 1985

Scott William Cox

Tuttle and Cox were both long haul truckers

WHERE IT HAPPENED

A non-interactive map of where things happened

BOOK

A book which includes Wesley Allen Tuttle

Criminal Evidence by Matthew Lippman

ISBN: 9781483359564
Published by SAGE Publications on 23 March 2015
Pages: 496

Lippman’s book includes the topic of the hypnotized witness in the Tuttle case.

A concise and comprehensive introduction to the law of evidence, Criminal Evidence takes an active learning approach to help readers apply evidence law to real-life cases. Bestselling author Matthew Lippman, a professor of criminal law and criminal procedure for over 25 years, creates an engaging and accessible experience for students from a public policy perspective through a multitude of contemporary examples and factual case scenarios that illustrate the application of the law of evidence. Highlighting the theme of a balancing of interests in the law of evidence, readers are asked to apply a more critical examination of the use of evidence in the judicial system. The structure of the criminal justice system and coverage of the criminal investigative process is also introduced to readers.

THE STATS

Days spent by Tuttle on the lam

200

Days between murdering Chambers, and pleading guilty

9350

Days between killings

300

Wesley Allen Tuttle in a Historical Timeline

Statistical table for Wesley Allen Tuttle

Killer Name	Tuttle, Wesley Allen
Gender	M
Arrest Date	October 7, 1983
Conviction Date	April 25, 1984
Sentence	Life term with possibility of parole; fixed life term in 2008
Birth Date	September 2, 1951
Status	Alive or Unknown
Height	175
School Grade	about grade 5
Job Types	long haul trucker
Labour Type	Blue
Sexual Preference	Straight
Marital Status	Married
Killer Type	Sexual/Sadistic, Wanderer
Total Dead Victims	2
Victims (Convicted)	2
Victim Gender	F
Victim Race	White
Victim Age	14, 21
Victim Type	Vulnerable, in need of help
Method of Killing	Strangulation. stabbed
Weapon	shoelace
Sex Assault	Yes
Sex Assault on Minor	Yes
Body - Left, Not Hidden	Yes
Body - Moved, Hidden	Yes
Commit Crimes While Out	Tuttle sentenced to a period of one to fifteen years in the Utah State prison. Said sentence was to be consecutive to his other sentence

Killer Rating

 3/5