William John Antoniewicz

William John Antoniewicz (pronounced Antoni-vitch) was born July 29, 1947 in New Bedford, Massachusetts to Joseph Louise and Janina Barbara Stupalski Antoniewicz. William was an officer killed in the line of duty.

State Trooper and Epilogue

On July 16, 1974, Bill accepted an appointment to the Utah Highway Patrol, and was assigned to the Port of Entry at Echo Canyon, Utah. He moved into a mobile home in Echo City, Utah, and when he began work, he would drive to the Utah Highway Patrol office in Coalville, Utah, pick up a patrol car, and then drive to the port of entry.1

"During the 1970s, state law allowed agencies to hire new officers and assign them police related duties, prior to attending Peace Officer Standards and Training. The agency had to schedule these new officers into an academy class within the first 18 months of employment. Trooper Antoniewicz had not attended POST, but was scheduled to attend an upcoming session. Although not part of their normal assignment, port troopers did occasionally stop violators on their way to and from the port. One such routine traffic stop led to the death of Trooper Antoniewicz."1

On Dec 8, 1974, shortly after 10 pm, Bill pulled over a compact yellow station wagon going over the speed limit in Echo Canyon heading to Wyoming.3 As Bill exited his patrol car and approached the vehicle, the driver of the station wagon shot Bill twice in the chest with a .38 caliber revolver. After Bill fell to the ground, the man stepped out of his vehicle, approached Bill, and kicked him in the face several times, after which he got back into his car and drove away into Wyoming.1

While driving his semitruck, John W. Dodds found Bill lying on the ground on the inside lane of the eastbound road, with the patrol car's lights still on. John exited his truck, made his way to Bill, and found him alive. Bill tried to converse with John about what had happened, but nothing coherent could be made. Bill soon passed out, and John tried to revive him with CPR, but was not successful.1

William John Antoniewicz was buried in the Richmond Cemetery. He is the only Fallen Officer to be buried in the Richmond Cemetery.

Locating the Killer

Under the direction of the Summit County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) and the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP), investigations began to find the murderer. Deputy Ron Robinson of SCSO and Lt. Colonel Ted C. Landon of UHP led the investigation. With very little evidence to go by, other than the car model and the gender of the killer, time went very slowly.1

Volunteers combed a 25 mile section of the freeway in Utah and Wyoming, and citizen band radios were used to query passing traffic for information. After 18 months, the department decided to send out a reward to whoever could give information about the killer. A woman stepped forward, saying that she knew a friend who had bragged about killing a Utah trooper in 1974.1

Emory Dean Beck of Wyoming was the accuser, and on July 2, 1976, Emory was arrested under first-degree murder charges. On Oct 1, Sherrie Sundbloom testified in a preliminary hearing, telling how Emory demonstrated to her and her husband how he killed Bill. Trial began in Coalville on March 22, 1977.1

"Based largely on Sundbloom’s testimony, prosecutors painted a cold-blooded picture of Beck on the night Antoniewicz was gunned down. On the day of the murder, Beck had gone to the jail in Evanston, Wyoming and broke out a friend, John W. Tague, after officers had left for the night. In addition to the jail break, Beck also stole firearms and drugs being used as evidence against him in a forthcoming case.

The two men drove to Salt Lake City were Beck dropped Tague off at the home of a friend. ...Beck did not want to be late for work [the following day] and he “had to book it like hell and God help any cop that stopped him.”1

On March 30, the jury began deliberation, and after two days, the jury was deadlocked. Third District Court Judge Stewart M. Hanson Jr. dismissed the jury and ordered Emory to stand trail again on May 3rd. However, rather than face a second trial, Emory pled guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder on May 17, 1977. On Aug 4, 1977, Emory was sentenced to five years to life in the Utah State Prison, but he only served 12 years. 1 2

Monuments and Honors