Utah murder suspect waives right to ‘speedy trial’ in 40-year-old death penalty case

FARMINGTON — A defense attorney who helped a man avoid a death sentence for murdering a South Ogden woman, Joyce Yost, in 1985, is off the case.

Attorney Collen Coebergh officially withdrew as defense counsel for Douglas Anderson Lovell during a hearing in Utah’s 2nd District Court on Monday, telling a judge that Lovell now refuses to speak with her.

“I have not spoken to Mr. Lovell since August 27, and that’s despite my urging that he communicate with me,” Coebergh said. “I think there has been a complete breakdown of communication.”

The rift represents a major shift, and another significant delay, in a case that’s already dragged on for more than 40 years. It means a sentencing hearing planned for next March, at which Lovell could potentially receive a death sentence for a third time, will be delayed until at least a year from now.

Branden Miles, chief criminal deputy for the Weber County Attorney’s Office, said the victims in the case are worried about any more delays.

“The state’s concern is whether we’re going to be right back here again in a matter of months with the next counsel,” Miles said. “At some point, we have to move this case forward.”

Yost’s daughter, Kim Salazar, echoed that, telling KSL after the hearing that the delay is “frustrating” and feels like another extension of what’s already been a life sentence for Yost’s loved ones.

Lovell’s role in the disappearance of Joyce Yost, and the ongoing, decades-long aftermath, are the subject of season 2 of the KSL Podcasts investigative series COLD.

A Brief History of the Joyce Yost Case

Lovell was first arrested and charged in 1985 with raping Yost, whom he’d never met. Yost disappeared just days before a scheduled trial and police at the time suspected foul play.

Lovell stood trial in the rape case and a jury convicted him, even in Yost’s absence. Several years later, Lovell’s ex-wife confessed to a South Ogden police detective that she’d assisted Lovell in killing Yost to prevent her from testifying against him at the rape trial.

The Weber County Attorney’s Office filed a capital murder charge against Lovell in 1992, and entered into plea negotiations with him soon afterward. Prosecutors offered to take the death penalty off the table, if Lovell admitted to the murder and led police to Yost’s remains.

Lovell agreed to the proposed deal and pointed investigators to the Old Snowbasin Road south of Pineview Reservoir, where he claimed to have left Yost’s body in August of 1985. Extensive searches there during the summer of 1993 failed to turn up any remains.

Prosecutors told a judge that Lovell’s failure to produce the remains invalidated the agreement, and the judge subsequently sentenced Lovell to death.

Soon afterward, Lovell asked to withdraw his guilty plea. The judge refused the request, sparking nearly two decades of legal appeals. The case made repeated trips to the Utah Supreme Court, which ultimately determined the sentencing judge made a technical error when advising Lovell of his rights.

The high court overturned Lovell’s death sentence and allowed him to withdraw his guilty plea. That set the stage for a trial in early 2015.

Douglas Lovell’s 2015 trial

Lovell’s defense team opted not to contest his guilt, due to the overwhelming evidence against him, which included not only his own prior admission but also secret recordings made by his ex-wife within the Utah State Prison.

The defense instead focused its efforts on trying to convince the jury that Lovell had reformed during his decades in prison and deserved a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The defense witnesses included several former bishops for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who’d ministered to Lovell at the prison. Each said they believed Lovell had shown true remorse for his crimes.

The jury again sentenced Lovell to death.

Lovell appealed that sentence, arguing prosecutors improperly injected religion into the trial by questioning one of his former bishops about Latter-day Saint doctrine. On cross-examination, one of the prosecutors had established that Lovell was excommunicated from the church and had never sought re-admittance.

It took another 9 years and a round of fact-finding hearings before the Utah Supreme Court sided with Lovell in 2024, finding the testimony about excommunication might have improperly influenced the jury’s decision. The high court overturned Lovell’s second death sentence.

Douglas Lovell waives a ‘speedy trial’

The Utah Supreme Court’s decision did not open the door for Lovell to now claim innocence in Joyce Yost’s murder. Instead, it had the effect of sending the case back to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing. That sentencing was initially scheduled to begin next March.

During a virtual court hearing on Monday, all parties in the case agreed that Lovell’s move to dismiss Colleen Coebergh, the attorney who successfully fought to get his second death sentence overturned, made a March sentencing impossible.

Another public defender working on Lovell’s case told Judge Michael DiReda it would take at least a year for a new attorney to get up to speed on the case.

DiReda asked Lovell if he understood the impact of his decision.

“I want to do what my attorneys think is best for my case,” Lovell said. “I’ll waive my right to a speedy trial.”

That phrasing stung  Salazar, who has advocated for Lovell to face death for decades.

“[Lovell] has all the rights,” Salazar said. “Where is our right to a speedy trial?”