State v. Rocco

HOWE, Associate Chief Justice:

Defendant Joseph P. Rocco appeals from a jury conviction of first degree murder for the death by arson of David Stewart in violation of Utah Code Ann § 76-5-202(l)(d). He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Utah State Prison.

Defendant and David Hansen burglarized Stewart’s home in Riverdale, Utah, on the night of February 1, 1983. The house was set on fire before they left, and Stewart, who was bound with electrical wire and left in the house, was burned beyond recognition. There was evidence that he died of extensive thermal burns or a combination of those…