Donald Eugene Younge Jr. will face trial for the death of U student Amy Quinton, and for nine other first-degree felonies, but the evidence against him is slim.
On Aug. 3, 1999, a man believed to be Younge entered Quinton’s apartment and tried to rob the 22-year-old senior in theater and her friends. Before the man left, he stabbed Quinton, punched her 37-year-old roommate Lynn Drebes and stabbed their 19-year-old friend Erin Warn. Warn recovered from the stab8212;Quinton did not.
“When I saw his eyes, I told myself I’d always remember them,” Warn said in a hearing Tuesday at the 3rd District Court that would determine whether there is enough evidence to send Younge, now in custody, to trial for Quinton’s death. Judge Ann Boyden decided there was.
“Maybe I watch too many cop shows, but when he (touched the phone) I thought there might be fingerprints,” Warn said.
She was wrong, but her testimony and that phone call might be what does Younge in.
The prosecution has two eyewitnesses8212;Warn and Drebes8212;as well as a 911 tape that allegedly has Younge telling the dispatcher that everything is fine while Quinton and her friends are panicking in the background.
Warn and Drebes took the witness stand Tuesday to recount the night that changed their lives. Both stories matched up.
Just after midnight, Younge entered the apartment and grabbed Drebes when she was going to the kitchen for a drink, they said. Warn, who was watching a movie while Quinton studied for a final exam, said she heard Drebes scream and saw Younge holding a knife to her throat.
According to the prosecution, Warn ran into Quinton’s room and started dialing 911, but Younge came in with Drebes, shoved her into the other women and hung up the phone before Warn could call for help. Younge, whom the women described as sounding hostile up until the dispatchers called back, suddenly sounded perfectly calm when the dispatchers called back and told them everything was fine, “like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kind of thing,” Drebes said.
According to the witnesses, Younge hung up and ordered the women to give him their wallets. Warn and Drebes complied, but when Warn asked if she could keep her identification cards, he stabbed her, punched Drebes, then stabbed Quinton in the heart before he left, the women said.
The defense team revealed at the preliminary hearing that there is no physical evidence of Younge at their apartment8212;no fingerprints and no DNA. All of the blood and fingerprints found at the scene belonged to the women and the responders.
The court does have a copy of Younge’s DNA that led to his charging for Quinton’s death, but it’s from a separate crime. Younge is also accused of raping another U student in 1996. It was the DNA evidence police gathered at that crime that led to them pinning Younge for the rape, and when they cross-referenced his physical appearance with the reported appearance of the 1999 home-invader, it matched closely enough to pursue him as a suspect.
In 2002, then-Detective Mark Shepherd brought Younge’s mug shot, as well as at least a dozen others, to Warn, now living in Michigan, and Drebes, now living in Las Vegas. Warn narrowed the lineup down to Younge and one other man. Drebes was more certain in identifying him. Last year, Younge’s cousin identified him on the tape.
It was finally enough for the prosecution to bring a case against him, said Alicia Cook, spokeswoman for the Utah District Attorney’s Office.
Younge could face the death penalty if he’s found guilty of killing Quinton, but the prosecution hasn’t said whether it wants to pursue that.
Younge will be arraigned for the rape charge Dec. 11. A date has not been set for when his murder trial will begin.
Photo courtesy Jeffrey Allred, Desert NewsDonald Eugene Younge Jr., who is charged with the 1999 death of U student Amy Quinton, enters court during a preliminary hearing Tuesday.