Photo of Sherry Black, provided by her family.
SALT LAKE CITY — Adam Durborow has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in the case of Sherry Black.
Black was killed in November 2010 in her bookstore, B&W Billiards and Books, at 3466 S. 700 E. in South Salt Lake. Salt Lake County DA Sim Gill says Black was visibly beaten and stabbed.
“The death was the result of multiple sharp-force and blunt-force injuries,” Gill said.
For several years, investigators had extremely little evidence to build their case on. Officers found an Armani Exchange belt at the crime scene, along with a lot of blood evidence. Investigators didn’t even had a description of their suspect until a lab made a composite sketch of Adam Durborow based on his DNA profile.
(On the left, a composite of a possible suspect made by DNA phenotyping. Credit: Laura Seitz, Deseret News, 2017. On the right, Adam Durborow’s booking photo from his arrest in October, 2020. Credit: Salt Lake County Jail.)
Gill said, “We were able to, subsequently, develop a DNA profile that then belonged to an unknown male. Then, [there was] good police work that eventually led to the identification of the suspect.”
Durborow was arrested in Utah County in 2020. Court records show he was arrested for theft just weeks before Black’s murder. Durborow’s sentencing is scheduled for December 2nd. Since he pled guilty to aggravated murder, Durborow only has two sentencing options.
Gill said, “The two options for sentencing are life without the possibility of parole and 25 [years] to life.”
Black is the mother-in-law of former Larry H. Miller Group CEO Greg Miller. Gill says Black’s family was present when Durborow pled guilty.
“We want to commend all of the hard work done by our law enforcement partners, South Salt Lake Police Department, Unified Police Department, and the team of prosecutors who worked this case,” said Gill. “With today’s plea of guilty we are one step closer to bringing a measure of justice for Sherry Black and her family.”