Justice for Kiplyn Davis? Family of 1995 victim fights for answers after killer’s release

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah family is still seeking answers more than 30 years after the disappearance of their 15-year-old daughter. Meanwhile, a man convicted of her killing is walking free for the first time in over a decade.

Kiplyn Davis was last seen at Spanish Fork High School on May 2, 1995. According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, she left all of her belongings in her locker at the school. 

In 2005, several men were indicted by a federal grand jury in relation to Davis’s disappearance. Two men, Christopher Neal Jeppson and Timmy Brent Olsen, were charged with murder. In 2009, Jeppson took a plea deal and instead was sentenced for obstruction of justice. He was released from prison in 2014.

Olsen took a similar path, pleading guilty to manslaughter in 2011. He claimed to have seen someone hit Davis twice in the head with a “softball-sized” rock, then help them move her body. As part of the plea agreement, Olsen never identified this other person or disclosed the location of Davis’s body. He was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison and was ultimately released on Tuesday.

KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas told KSL’s Maria Shilaos that, at this point, even if Davis’s body is found and it’s determined that Olsen was involved in her death, he cannot be tried for murder.

“Jeopardy is attached, which means we would have double jeopardy, and he could not be charged with anything,” Skordas said. “He could confess tomorrow … and say ‘Yeah, I did it,’ and they couldn’t do anything.”

‘Very bright, very bubbly, just a typical 15 year old’

A friend of Davis, who wished to remain anonymous, told KSL’s Maria Shilaos that it’s important to focus on Davis and her family’s fight for justice.

“The fact that they’re still fighting for her, I think, is incredible, and I think it’s important to remember her,” the friend said. “That she was an innocent life, that she was a beautiful person and, you know, she’s gone … I think it’s important to remember that … she was very special.”

 

Davis’s friend described her as “very bright, very bubbly” and “a typical 15 year old.” As she recounted some fond memories, she noted they did high school theater together and that Davis kept her mood up after she got into a car accident.

“She was involved in my first car accident ever, and she made me laugh the whole time,” her friend said. “(She was) always very happy and just a great friend to be around.”

‘She wouldn’t do that’

When Davis first went missing, her friend said many people came to the conclusion that she was a runaway. However, she said the people who new her didn’t believe that was a possibility.

“It was very frustrating, because that’s not what happened,” she said. “I had many councilors and … adults tell me ‘No, she just ran away, she just ran away.” And I was very adamant, ‘No, she wouldn’t do that. There’s something wrong.'”

Davis’s friend found it frustrating to see the case get cold over the few years following.

“That was very frustrating to have a friend who I cherished and it seemed like no one cared except her family,” she said.

Rhonda Dequier, founder of the Missing In America Network, told Shilaos framing missing children as runaways can do a lot of harm. She said she’s frustrated that runaways are not treated with the same urgency as other missing children.

“A lot of times people say ‘Oh, they just ran away,’ … The minute that they walk out their door, they are at risk,” she said.

Even if a child chooses to run away, according to Dequier, they can find themselves in danger. She pointed to cases of children being lured away by online predators as an example.

“Just because they packed a bag and walked out the door of their own free will, does not mean they’re in a safe place,” she said. “There’s many possibilities of where they could be. And so every single parent’s nightmare is coming true in that moment, because they need to find out if their child is safe.”

Dequier said it’s important for parents to act fast if they believe their child has gone missing. They should immediately call 911 and get their community involved.

“The first 24 hours is when you really need to engage your community to get out there,” Dequier said. “Because that’s when … they (missing children) might be walking down the street, they might be going into a store and we have a better chance of seeing them.”

She encouraged parents to reach out to community organizations like the Missing in America Network and local businesses to see if they can donate billboard space, print fliers or raise awareness in any way.

“We think that, at some point, if something like this happens to us, that the police are going to come in on their white horses and they’re going to solve everything for us, and that’s just not the case,” Dequier said. “The police will do as much as they can, but they’re limited in their resources … So, we really need to rely on the community members to help us find our children.”

The fight is not over

As Olsen was released from prison, Davis’s friend wants people to know that her parents are still fighting for answers. She said they are “very strong.”

“They leave the light on every night for her,” she said.

The Davis family holds on to hope that they will have answers one day. Family members and others who want justice for Davis often post to Find Kiplyn Davis on Facebook. On Tuesday they called for everyone to wear blue, Davis’s favorite color, to show their support.

Contributing: Andy Cupp, KSL

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