Utah judge denies new trial for convicted killer

PROVO — A Utah judge has denied the latest request by a convicted double murderer for a new trial.

John Pinder claimed new evidence would prove his innocence in the 1998 slayings of two ranch hands.

The Deseret News (http://bit.ly/OOK6Cf ) reports Fourth District Judge Lynn Davis rejected his claims Tuesday and also discounted allegations of misconduct on the part of prosecutors.

Pinder, now 54, kidnapped Rex Tanner and June Flood from their home in October 1998 with the help of ranch hand Filomeno Valenchia Ruiz.

The two men took Tanner and Flood to Pinder’s ranch in Duchesne County, where they killed them, then used explosives and a bulldozer to try to dispose of their bodies.

A jury convicted Pinder of 11 felonies, including two counts of aggravated murder.