TUCSON, Ariz (KGUN) — In what’s been called the Good Samaritan murder case, jurors worked from late Thursday to decide whether Jack Upchurch is guilty of killing Paul Clifford. Now they have decided guilty is their verdict.
Jack Upchurch had a muted reaction as he heard the verdicts read. Guilty on eleven counts—first degree murder, but other charges too like car theft, arson and tampering with evidence.
It’s a moment Paul Clifford’s daughter Sabrina Vining has been waiting for since the day her father died.
“This is 18 months, and we've been here every single day for the past two weeks. It kind of feels a little bit unreal that we're here, and we feel great that we got one out of the three, and we we have two more to go still.”
Prosecutors say on Christmas Eve almost two years ago Jack Upchurch was driving a stolen truck near the remote community of Redington. 16 year old Wendy Scott and 19 year old Elmer Smith were with him.
Investigators say they saw some ADOT heavy equipment and siphoned out some diesel fuel. As soon as they put it in the truck, the truck stalled and they could not restart it.
Wendy Scott testified Upchurch smoked some meth and set out looking for some way out of their predicament.
Prosecutors say he found Paul Clifford’s house. Clifford borrowed his daughter’s truck and went with Upchurch back to the disabled truck.
Wendy Scott said she heard Upchurch say “Don’t even think about it.” She says Paul Clifford said “Why are you doing this” then she heard a single gunshot.
Clifford’s body was found shot and burned next to the disabled truck. The truck was burned too.
Prosecutors say Upchurch, Scott and Smith went back to Tucson for six days of smoking meth and hiding evidence until Sheriff’s deputies found them.
Wendy Scott and Elmer Smith were facing the same murder charge Upchurch is facing until they agreed to testify against him. They pleaded guilty to lesser charges that will bring far less punishment.
Paul Clifford’s family says prosecutors could have convicted Upchurch without testimony from Wendy Scott and Elmer Smith—and should have never offered them a plea deal. The family says the two are as guilty as Upchurch and should face the same consequences.
Sabrina Vining says, “It should be equal. I believe in what the grand jury indicted all three individuals on. They are all guilty on all 11 accounts. They stayed together the entire time. These are not poor children being fed meth. These are people who make choices and consistently make bad choices who harm other people, and it's par for the course.”
Upchurch will learn his sentence September 28th. The sentence date for Scott and Smith is set for August 10th.
