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Uncle accused in girl's death charged with sexual assault

Posted June 05, 2019 7:00 am

The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Prosecutors have filed new sexual assault charges against a Utah man accused in the death of his 5-year-old niece.

Authorities say additional evidence from the state crime lab led to the counts of child rape and sodomy filed Wednesday against 21-year-old Alex Whipple.

Police say he killed Elizabeth "Lizzy" Shelley on May 25, after his sister let him spend the night at the family home.

She was missing for five days before her body was found in a heavily wooded area. Police have said Whipple gave his lawyer a map of where the body was hidden in exchange for a promise not to pursue the death penalty.

Whipple is also charged with aggravated murder, child kidnapping and other counts.

Defense attorney Shannon Demler did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

In a Saturday, June 1, 2019 photo, Jessica Whipple is comforted by her fiancÃ©e Detrich Black during a candlelight vigil in remembrance of her daughter Elizabeth "Lizzy" Shelley on the steps of the Historic Cache County Courthouse in Logan, Utah. Shelley was abducted from her Logan home and found dead five days later in the backyard of a nearby residence. (Jeffery D. Allred/The Deseret News via AP) The Associated Press

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