Latest news with #CedarCity
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Teen, 17, Was Being Sexually Abused. While Driving Near Abuser's Home, Strangers Feared She Was Stalking Them — and Killed Her
Kaylee Dutton was killed in a shooting in January near the residence of her abuser, who has not been charged in connection with her murder A Utah man has admitted to sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl before the teen was fatally shot by strangers who thought she was stalking them. The teen, identified by family members as Kaylee Dutton, was killed on Jan. 17, according to ABC 4, Cedar City News and KUTV. She was killed moments after driving through the townhome community where her abuser Justin Driffill lived in Cedar City, per ABC 4 and Cedar City News. Driffil, 27, was not charged in connection to Dutton's death. On Wednesday, July 23, he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct with a 16-17-year-old , ABC 4 and Cedar City News reported. Dutton's family says they believe she would not have been killed if she was not being sexually abused by him. "If it weren't for that, I just, we all just truly believe that she wouldn't have been in that neighborhood that night, and she would still be here," her mother, Kimberlee Dutton, told ABC 4. The investigation into Driffil began in October 2024 when Dutton, then 17, told her mother that Driffil was sexually engaging with her, per Cedar City News. Kimberlee told officers that Kaylee opened up to her about a relationship with Driffil after she was let go from the job where she worked under Driffil. The investigation revealed that Driffil and Kaylee were interacting on Snapchat, and Driffil admitted to police he was aware of her age at the time of their sexual encounters, per the men charged in connection with Kaylee's killing lived in the same apartment complex, Cedar City News reported, citing court documents. Michael Hess-Witucki and Ethan Galloway pleaded guilty to murder charges in April, ABC 4, KSL and Iron County Today reported at the time. If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
Girl, 17, shot dead by strangers while driving to home of groomer who was sexually abusing her
A 17 year-old girl was shot dead by a group of strangers while driving to the home of a groomer who has now been convicted of sexually abusing her. Kaylee Dutton, 17, died on a lonely stretch of road near Cedar City, Utah, when 12 bullets were fired into her car late in January of this year after she was mistaken for a stalker. The teenager was hit at least once by a .223 caliber bullet and crashed her red pickup truck into a fence. She was dead on arrival at Cedar City Hospital. Dutton had been driving near the home of Justin Driffill, 27, who was arrested and charged last October with unlawful sexual conduct against Dutton. She was under the age of consent in Utah - 18 - at the time of her killing. Driffill pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct against Dutton, a third degree felony, at a court in Cedar City Wednesday. He will be sentenced later this year. Dutton's mother Kimberlee told ABC4 that the family had been close friends with Justin from when she was a toddler and that Kaylee worked with Justin after she graduated high school. She believes that Kaylee might still be alive today if the relationship with Driffill, who has pleaded guilty, had never started saying her daughter was in love with him. Kimberlee said: 'If it weren't for that, I just, we all just truly believe that she wouldn't have been in that neighborhood that night, and she would still be here.' Michael Hess-Witucki and Ethan Galloway both pleaded guilty to killing Kaylee, saying they thought Kaylee had been stalking them. Kaylee's family also told the outlet that they have no closure surrounding Driffill's guilty plea. Kimberlee added: 'A guilty plea doesn't really undo the damage that he did to her. It doesn't really bring back her life, but it does prove what we've been saying all along. 'The truth is at the end of the day he hurt her, and he knew it.' Charging documents in the case, seen by St George News, say that Kaylee had detailed to investigators the sexual contact between her and Driffill. Investigators in the case recovered message exchanges between the two over Snapchat, Driffill told officers he was aware of their age difference. Driffill is to be sentenced later this year after his guilty please, while Hess-Witucki and Galloway are also awaiting sentencing for murdering Kaylee. Iron County Sheriff Ken Carpenter said the pair admitted their roles in Kaylee's death and Galloway wrote a letter to her family explaining his actions. 'Both suspects admitted that their actions had resulted in serious bodily injury and death of the victim,' an arrest affidavit read. 'Their justification for chasing the victim's vehicle was they believed they had previously observed the victim's vehicle in their neighborhood and presumed the occupants of the victim's vehicle were (stalking) them. 'At the conclusion of the interview, Ethan wrote a letter of apology to the parents of the victim, describing the reasoning why he chased the victim's vehicle and shot the victim-driver.' 'Both suspects admitted that their actions had resulted in serious bodily injury and death of the victim,' an arrest affidavit read. 'Their justification for chasing the victim's vehicle was they believed they had previously observed [it] in their neighborhood and presumed the occupants were [stalking] them. 'At the conclusion of the interview, Ethan wrote a letter of apology to the parents of the victim, describing the reasoning why he chased the victim's vehicle and shot the victim.' Galloway and Hess-Witucki saw Kaylee's car at their home block and chased after it in a black 2018 Chevrolet Silverado, flashing the car's high beam headlights. Kaylee and her 18-year-old friend saw the pickup truck pursuing them and drove almost six miles north and then west out of town. Hess-Witucki pulled alongside them just before the intersection of Midvalley Road and 4300 W and Galloway sprayed the car with bullets. Kaylee's friend survived with only a leg injury. The unidentified passenger called 911 at 10:32pm. Dispatch audio indicates that first responders arrived at the scene 20 minutes later. A local SWAT team arrested Galloway and Hess-Witucki outside their home at about 5:45pm the following day.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Utah's air tanker bases have already used 1.2 million gallons of retardant fighting wildfires
SALT LAKE CITY () — Bureau of Land Management Utah announced that Utah's air tanker bases have already pumped 1.2 million gallons of fire retardant while fighting wildfires. 'It's been a BUSY stretch for wildfires in Utah, especially in the southern part of the state,' BLM Utah wrote in a . Reportedly, over the course of a normal fire season, the air tanker bases located in Salt Lake City and Cedar City pump 800,000 gallons of retardant across the Great Basin. So far this season, they have already pumped almost 1.2 million gallons, and we're a little over halfway through fire season. The Cedar City air tanker base has been especially important because a lot of the wildfire activity has been in southern Utah this season. According to BLM Utah, the Ceder City tanker base achieved two records this week: delivering 130,000 of fire retardant in a single day, and the fastest they've ever used a million gallons in a season. 'Behind every one of those drops is a team working around the clock to mix, load, and send aircraft back into the fight,' BLM Utah wrote. 'Huge shoutout to our staff and interagency partners at the base!' Latest headlines: Republicans eye efforts to quiet Epstein uproar but can't quash it Utah spends the 3rd lowest amount of income on childcare in nation: Wallethub Utah's air tanker bases have already used 1.2 million gallons of retardant fighting wildfires One dead after Orem house fire Friday morning Officials warn of potential flash floods in burn scars and Zion National Park Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Here Are the Cheapest Cities To Live in the Most Expensive States
Even famously expensive states have relatively inexpensive places to live. It's all about knowing where to look. Among the 16 most expensive states (annual living costs of more than $80,000 a year), there are cities where living costs come in tens of thousands of dollars below state averages. The $40,000 to $50,000 range is the most common. Find Out: Learn More: In a recent analysis, GOBankingRates has taken those 16 states and identified the least expensive city in terms of living costs for each. The cities were pulled from Zillow's list of the 2,500 largest U.S. cities, based on housing market size, for March 2025. The threshold was increased to 4,000 for Maine, North Dakota and Vermont. Cost-of-living data was sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Sperling's BestPlaces. Here's a rundown on the least expensive city in each of these expensive states, along with side-by-side costs. Also see the cost of living in every state. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 16th Average annual cost of living in state: $81,067 Average annual cost of living in city: $36,876 Cedar City is located about 250 miles southwest of Salt Lake City and 170 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Cedar City comes in below the national average for grocery costs, at about $465 a month. Check Out: Also Read: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 15th Average annual cost of living in state: $86,167 Average annual cost of living in city: $39,046 You'll find Sierra Vista about 20 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in southeast Arizona. Monthly rent here will cost you about $1,400 on average. Discover More: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 14th Average annual cost of living in state: $86,554 Average annual cost of living in city: $34,981 Klamath Falls is a town of about 22,000 residents, located about 15 miles north of the California border on U.S. Route 97. It comes in below national averages for groceries (97.3% of the average), healthcare (99.6%), utilities (94%) and transportation (68.6%). State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 13th Average annual cost of living in state: $86,631 Average annual cost of living in city: $36,531 Waterville is located along the Kennebec River, about 80 miles northeast of Portland, Maine. Average monthly rent in this college town comes in just shy of $1,300. Average healthcare costs are roughly $5,800 a year, below national averages. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 12th Average annual cost of living in state: $86,708 Average annual cost of living in city: $42,655 Woonsocket sits along the Rhode Island-Massachusetts border, about 15 miles north of Providence. Annual healthcare costs around $5,400, and you can expect to pay roughly $530 each month for groceries. Also Find: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 11th Average annual cost of living in state: $86,785 Average annual cost of living in city: $42,706 You'll find the town of East Hartford across the Connecticut River from Hartford, the state capital. Despite its relative cheapness compared to state averages, East Hartford exceeds national averages for groceries ($524 a month), healthcare ($7,021 a year), utilities ($463 a month) and transportation ($6,938 a year). State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 10th Average annual cost of living in state: $87,017 Average annual cost of living in city: $43,374 Rochester sits on the eastern edge of New Hampshire, about an hour drive east of Concord. You can save around $40,000 a year living here compared to the state average, but monthly rent will still run you $1,700+ a month. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 9th Average annual cost of living in state: $88,254 Average annual cost of living in city: $35,811 Yakima is a city with about 100,000 residents, located about 150 miles southeast of Seattle in south-central Washington. It's significantly cheaper than Seattle and comes in below national averages for grocery costs (about $500 a month) and healthcare costs ($5,352 a year). Rent in Yakima costs $1,260 a month on average. Read More: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 8th Average annual cost of living in state: $88,408 Average annual cost of living in city: $49,474 Burlington is located in northwestern Vermont along the shore of Lake Champlain. In this list of cheap cities in expensive states, Burlington is second only to Wahiawa, Hawaii, for the highest average monthly rent with costs of $2,031. Burlington also exceeds national averages for grocery costs ($562 a month), healthcare (nearly $8,000 a year), utilities ($433 a month) and transportation ($5,179 a year). State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 7th Average annual cost of living in state: $88,563 Average annual cost of living in city: $42,685 Millville is part of the state's South Jersey region. Living here can save you roughly $46,000 a year compared to average state living costs. Monthly rent comes in at $1,638 on average. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 6th Average annual cost of living in state: $89,104 Average annual cost of living in city: $33,347 Located in western Maryland along the Potomac River, Cumberland has about 19,000 residents. Healthcare costs here — about $5,200 a year — are about 84% of the national median. Monthly rent will run you about $1,034. See More: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 5th Average annual cost of living in state: $95,286 Average annual cost of living in city: $31,821 Jamestown sits in southwest New York, about 70 miles southwest of Buffalo. You can find monthly rent here for less than $1,000 (just $913 on average). Your grocery bill will be $480 per month on average. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 4th Average annual cost of living in state: $95,673 Average annual cost of living in city: $46,262 The only state capital to appear in this list, Anchorage offers relatively reasonable average monthly rent costs of around $1,600. Groceries will run you about $617 a month. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 3rd Average annual cost of living in state: $111,901 Average annual cost of living in city: $39,321 You'll find Porterville roughly halfway between Fresno and Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley. Porterville's average monthly rent of $1,252 can be tough to find in other parts of the state. Groceries here will cost you just shy of $500 a month, slightly below the national average. Trending Now: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 2nd Average annual cost of living in state: $112,752 Average annual cost of living in city: $33,347 Holyoke is located just north of Springfield in south-central Massachusetts. Monthly rent here will cost you $1,534 on average. You can do well in Holyoke compared to national averages for healthcare ($5,623 a year). State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 1st Average annual cost of living in state: $144,436 Average annual cost of living in city: $58,317 Wahiawa is a relatively expensive place to live compared to many other U.S. cities, but consider the delta between living here and living in other parts of Hawaii. Located on the island of Oahu, Wahiawa comes in about $86,000 cheaper for annual living costs than the state average. Rent in Wahiawa still costs $2,221 on average, and groceries will cost you nearly $700 a month. Editor's note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed. Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates looked at the 2,500 largest cities in terms of housing market size, according to Zillow's March 2025 data. With these cities isolated, GOBankingRates found the city with the cheapest 2025 rent and from there found the annual essentials (Rent, Groceries, Utilities, Transportation, and Healthcare) cost of living for these places. Cost-of-living figures were calculated by first finding the annual average expenditure, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey and from there used cost-of-living indices sourced from Sperling's Best Places. For ME, ND, and VT the market size was relaxed to 4,000. All data was collected on and is up to date as of May 14, 2025. More From GOBankingRates 3 Luxury SUVs That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Summer 2025 6 Popular SUVs That Aren't Worth the Cost -- and 6 Affordable Alternatives 9 Downsizing Tips for the Middle Class To Save on Monthly Expenses This article originally appeared on Here Are the Cheapest Cities To Live in the Most Expensive States
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Here Are the Cheapest Cities To Live in the Most Expensive States
Even famously expensive states have relatively inexpensive places to live. It's all about knowing where to look. Among the 16 most expensive states (annual living costs of more than $80,000 a year), there are cities where living costs come in tens of thousands of dollars below state averages. The $40,000 to $50,000 range is the most common. Find Out: Learn More: In a recent analysis, GOBankingRates has taken those 16 states and identified the least expensive city in terms of living costs for each. The cities were pulled from Zillow's list of the 2,500 largest U.S. cities, based on housing market size, for March 2025. The threshold was increased to 4,000 for Maine, North Dakota and Vermont. Cost-of-living data was sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Sperling's BestPlaces. Here's a rundown on the least expensive city in each of these expensive states, along with side-by-side costs. Also see the cost of living in every state. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 16th Average annual cost of living in state: $81,067 Average annual cost of living in city: $36,876 Cedar City is located about 250 miles southwest of Salt Lake City and 170 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Cedar City comes in below the national average for grocery costs, at about $465 a month. Check Out: Also Read: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 15th Average annual cost of living in state: $86,167 Average annual cost of living in city: $39,046 You'll find Sierra Vista about 20 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in southeast Arizona. Monthly rent here will cost you about $1,400 on average. Discover More: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 14th Average annual cost of living in state: $86,554 Average annual cost of living in city: $34,981 Klamath Falls is a town of about 22,000 residents, located about 15 miles north of the California border on U.S. Route 97. It comes in below national averages for groceries (97.3% of the average), healthcare (99.6%), utilities (94%) and transportation (68.6%). State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 13th Average annual cost of living in state: $86,631 Average annual cost of living in city: $36,531 Waterville is located along the Kennebec River, about 80 miles northeast of Portland, Maine. Average monthly rent in this college town comes in just shy of $1,300. Average healthcare costs are roughly $5,800 a year, below national averages. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 12th Average annual cost of living in state: $86,708 Average annual cost of living in city: $42,655 Woonsocket sits along the Rhode Island-Massachusetts border, about 15 miles north of Providence. Annual healthcare costs around $5,400, and you can expect to pay roughly $530 each month for groceries. Also Find: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 11th Average annual cost of living in state: $86,785 Average annual cost of living in city: $42,706 You'll find the town of East Hartford across the Connecticut River from Hartford, the state capital. Despite its relative cheapness compared to state averages, East Hartford exceeds national averages for groceries ($524 a month), healthcare ($7,021 a year), utilities ($463 a month) and transportation ($6,938 a year). State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 10th Average annual cost of living in state: $87,017 Average annual cost of living in city: $43,374 Rochester sits on the eastern edge of New Hampshire, about an hour drive east of Concord. You can save around $40,000 a year living here compared to the state average, but monthly rent will still run you $1,700+ a month. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 9th Average annual cost of living in state: $88,254 Average annual cost of living in city: $35,811 Yakima is a city with about 100,000 residents, located about 150 miles southeast of Seattle in south-central Washington. It's significantly cheaper than Seattle and comes in below national averages for grocery costs (about $500 a month) and healthcare costs ($5,352 a year). Rent in Yakima costs $1,260 a month on average. Read More: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 8th Average annual cost of living in state: $88,408 Average annual cost of living in city: $49,474 Burlington is located in northwestern Vermont along the shore of Lake Champlain. In this list of cheap cities in expensive states, Burlington is second only to Wahiawa, Hawaii, for the highest average monthly rent with costs of $2,031. Burlington also exceeds national averages for grocery costs ($562 a month), healthcare (nearly $8,000 a year), utilities ($433 a month) and transportation ($5,179 a year). State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 7th Average annual cost of living in state: $88,563 Average annual cost of living in city: $42,685 Millville is part of the state's South Jersey region. Living here can save you roughly $46,000 a year compared to average state living costs. Monthly rent comes in at $1,638 on average. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 6th Average annual cost of living in state: $89,104 Average annual cost of living in city: $33,347 Located in western Maryland along the Potomac River, Cumberland has about 19,000 residents. Healthcare costs here — about $5,200 a year — are about 84% of the national median. Monthly rent will run you about $1,034. See More: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 5th Average annual cost of living in state: $95,286 Average annual cost of living in city: $31,821 Jamestown sits in southwest New York, about 70 miles southwest of Buffalo. You can find monthly rent here for less than $1,000 (just $913 on average). Your grocery bill will be $480 per month on average. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 4th Average annual cost of living in state: $95,673 Average annual cost of living in city: $46,262 The only state capital to appear in this list, Anchorage offers relatively reasonable average monthly rent costs of around $1,600. Groceries will run you about $617 a month. State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 3rd Average annual cost of living in state: $111,901 Average annual cost of living in city: $39,321 You'll find Porterville roughly halfway between Fresno and Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley. Porterville's average monthly rent of $1,252 can be tough to find in other parts of the state. Groceries here will cost you just shy of $500 a month, slightly below the national average. Trending Now: State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 2nd Average annual cost of living in state: $112,752 Average annual cost of living in city: $33,347 Holyoke is located just north of Springfield in south-central Massachusetts. Monthly rent here will cost you $1,534 on average. You can do well in Holyoke compared to national averages for healthcare ($5,623 a year). State's ranking on the 'most expensive' list: 1st Average annual cost of living in state: $144,436 Average annual cost of living in city: $58,317 Wahiawa is a relatively expensive place to live compared to many other U.S. cities, but consider the delta between living here and living in other parts of Hawaii. Located on the island of Oahu, Wahiawa comes in about $86,000 cheaper for annual living costs than the state average. Rent in Wahiawa still costs $2,221 on average, and groceries will cost you nearly $700 a month. Editor's note: Photos are for representational purposes only and might not reflect the exact locations listed. Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates looked at the 2,500 largest cities in terms of housing market size, according to Zillow's March 2025 data. With these cities isolated, GOBankingRates found the city with the cheapest 2025 rent and from there found the annual essentials (Rent, Groceries, Utilities, Transportation, and Healthcare) cost of living for these places. Cost-of-living figures were calculated by first finding the annual average expenditure, as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey and from there used cost-of-living indices sourced from Sperling's Best Places. For ME, ND, and VT the market size was relaxed to 4,000. All data was collected on and is up to date as of May 14, 2025. More From GOBankingRates 3 Luxury SUVs That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Summer 2025 6 Popular SUVs That Aren't Worth the Cost -- and 6 Affordable Alternatives 9 Downsizing Tips for the Middle Class To Save on Monthly Expenses This article originally appeared on Here Are the Cheapest Cities To Live in the Most Expensive States
