Source: Office of United States Attorneys
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Randy Lansing, 41, of Aneth, Utah, was sentenced today to a term of life in prison for murdering a woman he was dating in front of her two young daughters.
The sentence, imposed by Senior U.S. District Court Judge David Nuffer, comes after Lansing was found guilty by a federal jury for murder in the second degree while within Indian Country.
According to court documents, evidence presented at trial, and statements made at Lansing’s sentencing hearing, Lansing murdered Tammy Clark, on April 23, 2022. Clark was a 30-year-old mother of three, who Lansing severely beat and drowned in front of her two young daughters. During trial, the evidence established that on the day of the murder, Lansing drove Ms. Clark, her two young daughters and a second woman to McElmo Creek. At the creek, Lansing violently beat and forcibly drowned Ms. Clark, causing her grievous injuries that included a broken nose, extensive facial swelling, many brain hemorrhages, lacerations to her right cheek, left ear, and inside her mouth, a fractured hyoid (neck) bone, four broken ribs, and extensive blunt force trauma to her torso and extremities.
According to statements and evidence presented at trial, Lansing also threatened Ms. Clark’s young daughter. He later drove Ms. Clark’s beaten body to Aneth in the back of his SUV, where he left the vehicle as his mother contacted neighbors for help. Several neighbors, including an EMT, called San Juan County Dispatch for an ambulance and attempted life saving measures until the ambulance arrived and transported Ms. Clark to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.
“Mr. Lansing subjected Ms. Clark to an unthinkable level of brutality before her death, all witnessed by her young daughters,” said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah. “He has a history of violence against women, which escalated to the heinous murder of this young mother. While no prison sentence can ever make up for the life stolen from Ms. Clark’s family, it is our hope her children can continue to heal and move forward after being profoundly impacted by the gravity of Lansing’s crime.”
“Randy Lansing’s horrific actions will forever have a profound impact on the victim’s family, especially her two young children,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Albert Kelly of the Salt Lake City FBI. “The FBI will continue to work alongside our tribal and other law enforcement partners to seek justice and support victims of such heinous crimes.”
The case was investigated jointly by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office’s Monticello Resident Agency and Navajo Nation Police Department, Criminal Investigations.
United States Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tad May and Tanner Zumwalt prosecuted the case.