Austin Boutain sentenced to life without parole for shooting, killing U of U student
(KUTV) — 25-year-old Austin Boutain confessed to aggravated murder on Wednesday.
The confession was part of a plea deal including multiple charges, namely the aggravated murder of University of Utah student ChenWei Guo on October 30, 2017.
Rather than face the death penalty, Boutain will now spend life in prison without the possibility of parole.
He still faces additional charges in Colorado, including a separate aggravated murder charge.
Authorities in Golden, Colorado could extradite him. It will be up to a local judge to determine if and when they will allow Boutain to face those charges.
Inter-state sentencing is not concurrent. If convicted with additional charges in Colorado, Boutain would have to serve additional time, said Kent Morgan, a third party attorney 2News consulted.
According to court documents, Boutain and his wife were partying in Colorado when another man began speaking with his wife. That’s when investigators believe Boutain killed the man, took his vehicle, and took off to Utah with his wife.
Documents say he and his wife planned to steal another person’s vehicle in Utah. That’s when the 23-year-old U of U student, Guo, was killed. His passenger ran away.
Boutain also faces several other charges, including attempted murder.
