Utah man accused of aiding, filming 16-year-old girl’s suicide

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

An 18-year-old Utah man has been accused of murder for videotaping the death of a 16-year-old girl in a remote area of Payson Canyon.

Local media reports said Tyerell Joe Przybycien was arrested Saturday after a hunter called the Utah County Sheriff's Office to report finding the body of a teenage girl hanging from a  tree with a rope around her neck. While still at  the scene, investigators were approached by Przybycien who said he knew the girl, and had been with her when she died, according to a press report from the sheriff's office.

Evidence collected at the scene includes receipts for several items purchased by Przybycien, such as a can of air cleaner and the rope, and a cell phone recording made by him that showed the girl as she died, deputies said.

In the video, he talks to the girl as she is standing on a rock before she inhales from the can of air cleaner. She then loses consciousness, and the recording continues for about 10 minutes, according to reports, as she hangs from the tree and dies.

“He does nothing to try and talk her out of this,” said Sgt. Spencer Cannon of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. “He does nothing to physically keep her from doing it. In fact, while she’s doing this you can see him go up on the recording and check to verify that she’s dead, and then he leaves the scene.”

According to officials, the 18-year-old told deputies he had a fascination with death and that he had wanted to see someone die. Przybycien apparently told deputies he wanted to watch so he could know if he could go through with suicide himself.

Przybycien has been charged with one felony count of murder and a misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment.

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