SALT LAKE COUNTY – Austin Boutain, the man accused of shooting and killing a University of Utah student in late October, is now facing 14 charges, including aggravated murder and attempted murder. His wife, Kathleen Boutain, is facing six, including criminal solicitation.
Prosecutors say the Boutains had a sinister plan from the moment they came into Utah. First, District Attorney Sim Gill says they got rid of the vehicle they reportedly stole from a man they murdered in Golden, Colorado. After that, Gill says they planned on kidnapping a total stranger, adding, “Their plan was to drive this person to Tennessee, using [the victim’s] credit card for gas and food, and once in Tennessee, they were going to kill this person.”
However, Gill says the plan was taking too long for Kathleen’s liking, and she grew impatient. He says, “She made a couple of derogatory comments to him about not getting this done.”
The couple started fighting, and charging documents say Austin pistol-whipped his wife, forcing her to run away. While looking for her, Boutain came across the car of ChenWei Guo, and his passenger Xiaoying Ding. Boutain demanded answers from the people inside about whether or not they had seen his wife. “They tried to turn around and drive away, which enraged him, so he fired multiple shots into the car,” Gill says.
The car then rolled away and came to an embankment. Boutain reportedly heard the voice of Ding from inside the car while she was calling 911. A few moments later, “He decide to go back to the vehicle to bring the woman out, and it was his intent, he said, bring her out, take her up into the canyon and kill her,” Gill says.
Ding was able to escape, and Boutain was able to go around a police containment. He was arrested in the Downtown Salt Lake Library the next day.