Preliminary hearing in Wes Nay murder case not to happen until December
Greg Knight
Staff writer
8/3/2017
PROVO—Wesley Nay’s alleged killer is scheduled for preliminary hearing on Dec. 12 in 4th District Court in Provo.
Raul F. Vidrio, 20, also of Mt. Pleasant, is charged with aggravated murder in the stabbing death of Wesley Dee Nay, 22. Nay’s body was discovered in a shallow grave near a remote part of Indianola Hills in October, just over the Utah County line from Sanpete County.
According to Utah County Deputy Public Defender Thomas Means, the delay in getting to the preliminary hearing stage is due to nature of the investigation his team is conducting on behalf of Vidrio.Dec
“A case like this needs to have lots and lots of investigation done on our part,” Means said. “We need to make sure we do our due diligence and do what is in the best interest of Mr. Vidrio. This case came along too fast for us to complete our side of the investigation in time, so this new date for the preliminary hearing will give us time to complete our investigation.”
Nay’s family reported him as missing mid-September. Hunters in the area discovered his remains.
In addition to the fatal stab wounds, a Utah County medical examiner discovered that Nay’s body, which had also been burned, suffered extensive blunt force trauma.
Vidrio was charged on Nov. 15, while incarcerated at the Utah County Jail on unrelated charges.
According to court documents, Vidrio was previously arrested in early September after being pulled over in a stolen vehicle. During a search of that vehicle, investigators found a backpack that contained a sheathed knife that tested positive for Nay’s DNA.
Police discovered an image that allegedly showed Nay being forced to dig his own grave after reviewing files on Vidrio’s cell phone.
Vidrio remains incarcerated at the Utah County Jail on the charges of first-degree aggravated murder, second-degree obstruction of justice and third-degree abuse or desecration of a human body. If convicted of the aggravated murder charge, he could face the death penalty, life in prison without parole or an indeterminate prison term of no less than 25 years.
