The Salt Lake County district attorney is filing charges in a 1996 murder investigation

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced Thursday that Donald Eugene Young Jr. will be charged with the alleged 1996 murder of a pizza delivery woman in West Valley City.

Young Jr. is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree aggravated kidnapping and first-degree aggravated robbery.

According to the district attorney, advanced DNA testing of the blood collected from the seatbelt buckle matched Mr. Young’s blood. The knife’s prints also matched those of Mr. Young.

On December 9, 1996, police responded to a car-pedestrian accident at 3100 South and 5300 West in which the woman, wearing a Pizza Hut employee uniform, was identified as Lisa Redmond, a 36-year-old mother of two . Investigators found signs of a struggle in the truck as well as blood found underneath the truck. The knife would also be found in the vehicle.

A year after the incident, police and Pizza Hut had increased the reward for information that could lead to an arrest to $10,000, but the case remained unsolved as of Thursday.

The defendant is currently serving a sentence of more than 30 years at the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison, Utah, for two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and one count of second-degree robbery.

“We appreciate the hard work of our West Valley City Police Department investigators and detectives for their diligent investigation that contributed to the filing of these charges. “While unsolved homicides leave an open wound and lasting injury, today’s filing is a first step toward closure for the victim’s family and our community,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”