Saratoga Springs teen charged with killing mother, brother

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Nearly a year and a half after a Saratoga Springs mother and her 8-year-old son were killed, the woman's 16-year-old son has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder in juvenile court.

On Friday, the teen, who was 15 at the time of his alleged crimes, was charged in 4th District Court with two counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony. KSL is not naming the boy at this time.

Prosecutors note in their charging documents that "it is the state's intention in filing this criminal Information to bind the defendant over to the adult district court."

The teen is accused of killing his mother, Jessica Orton Lyman, 44, and her 8-year-old son, Eli Painter — the teen's half-brother — on March 27, 2025. Their bodies weren't discovered until the next morning when Lyman's 17-year-old daughter returned to the home at 1244 N. Willowbrook Lane and found her mother and 8-year-old brother lying on the floor in her mother's bedroom.

Eli, who was shot twice in the head, was pronounced dead at the scene. Lyman, who was shot once in the head, according to charging documents, was taken to a local hospital in extremely critical condition and she died a couple of days later.

Police also found Lyman's then 15-year-old son in the house.

"He claimed to have been sleeping and stated he had not heard the gunshots, (his sister's) frantic and high-volume conversation with 911, which took place immediately next to his bedroom, or the initial entry of multiple officers and EMT personnel," the charges state.

Saratoga Springs police reviewed a home surveillance video from a nearby residence that showed at about 11:30 p.m. on March 27, 2025, "arguing can be heard that is consistent with (the teen's and the victims') voices. Near midnight, a woman's voice, consistent with (Lyman's) can be heard shouting ... 'What are you doing?!' Less than two minutes later, three gunshots are heard: one, followed by a brief pause, and then two in very rapid succession. (The teen) later admitted in a police interview that he and (his mother) had argued that night," according to charging documents.

Additional home surveillance videos showed that between 2:34 a.m. and 2:59 a.m. on March 28, 2025, "a figure in a mask is seen on several different home surveillance cameras in the neighborhood. This figure is the same height and the same build as (the teen). The mask and some clothing items are consistent with items known to have been worn by (the teen). Based on the path of travel in the surveillance video as well as time periods where the masked figure is not visible, (he) could have disposed of the murder weapon in several locations, including the Jordan River, which is only a few minutes' walk from the home," the charges state.

In November 2025, dive teams from the FBI and the Saratoga Springs Police Department searched the Jordan River and its surrounding banks looking for evidence. Details on what exactly the dive teams were looking for were not given. However, police had previously stated that no guns — other than two BB guns in the boy's room — had been recovered during the investigation.

"Subsequent investigation showed that (the teen) had gunshot residue on multiple items of clothing, including the clothing he was wearing on the morning of March 28, 2025," the charges state.

Investigators also noted that the teen boy had "scratches on his right shoulder" and that the teen's DNA was found under the fingernails of one of the victims, according to the charges. His DNA "was also found on the waistband of the shorts (Lyman) was wearing when she died."

A series of search warrants unsealed months later outlined some of the evidence collected to that point, which seemed to point to the teen as a suspect. Police searched his room under a warrant unsealed in July 2025. Officers found a handwritten note referencing "several forms of forensic evidence," including "serology," "DNA" and "firearm testing," according to the affidavit. "(A detective) also located a second handwritten note stating, 'This is a murder story.'"

"This very complex case required an extraordinary amount of time, attention to detail and perseverance," Chief Andrew Burton said following the teen's arrest a week ago. The chief said detectives executed dozens of search warrants, collected hundreds of items of evidence, conducted numerous interviews and reviewed extensive amounts of video, records and other information relevant to the case throughout the nearly year-and-a-half-long investigation. He said it took time to process it all.

Defendants convicted in juvenile court can be held in a secure facility only until they turn 21. If the teen is convicted of aggravated murder as an adult, prosecutors say he faces a mandatory sentence of no less than 25-years and up to life in the Utah State Prison.

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