EARLY LIFE:
Kiplyn Davis was born in Provo, Utah, on July 1, 1979, to Richard and Tamara Davis. Growing up, she was described as a social butterfly who was kind to everyone she met. She had a bright personality, which often led to her being the centre of attention at social gatherings.
At the time of her disappearance and presumed murder, Kiplyn was a sophomore at Spanish Fork High School.
DISAPPEARANCE:
On the morning of May 2, 1995, Kiplyn got into an argument with her parents and left to attend a driver’s education class at the high school, located about eight blocks from her home. She subsequently attended her morning classes, and was last seen sitting with her friends in the school cafeteria around lunchtime.
Kiplyn didn’t attend her fourth and fifth period classes, prompting the school to contact her parents. At 5:00 PM, when she hadn’t returned home at her usual time, Tamara and Richard reported their daughter missing to the Spanish Fork Police Department.
INVESTIGATION:
Kiplyn’s disappearance was initially treated as a runaway case, given her age and the fact she’d gotten into an argument with her parents that morning. This meant it took two weeks for them to issue a public plea for information. Richard and Tamara were quick to dismiss the possibility their daughter had run away, as she was happy with how life was going. She was close to getting her driver’s license, and she was excited about her older sister’s upcoming wedding.
A search of Kiplyn’s school locker found she’d left behind all of her personal belongings, including her retainer, schoolbooks, makeup and purse – not things a girl running away would forget to take with her. When spoken to, one of her friends initially claimed to have spoken to the missing 15-year-old between fourth and fifth periods, but he later changed his story.
In the weeks following Kiplyn’s disappearance, rumours began to spread, alleging her body had been buried at a train tunnel, in a nearby canyon and under a building. Reports also emerged regarding a possible sighting of her in a vehicle shortly after she was last seen at Spanish Fork High School. Unfortunately, none of these stories could be confirmed or dismissed.
Within two months of Kiplyn going missing, the FBI began involved in the investigation. However, it wasn’t until 2003 that progress would be made, thanks to the efforts of US Attorney Paul Warner. His deep dive into the case focused on the 15-year-old’s classmates – Timmy Brent Olsen, David Rucker Leifson, Scott Brunson and Christopher Neal Jeppson – and their friend, Gary Blackmore.
Olsen, Brunson, Jeppson and Leifson were members of the Spanish Fork High School drama club, and they had claimed to have been in the auditorium on the day Kiplyn went missing. They said they’d been hanging lights for an upcoming performance. This story was discounted by a community choir that had been rehearsing in the room around the same time; none of the members had seen the four teenagers that day.
Of the group, Olsen was the one to come under suspicion the quickest. He’d given contradicting stories to investigators, and numerous witnesses later came forward to say he’d confessed to sexually assaulting and killing the 15-year-old, after which he’d hid her body in a canyon near Spanish Fork River. A least four even claimed he’d been sexually aggressive toward them.
As a result of the renewed investigation, it’s believed Kiplyn was raped and murdered by people she knew, with Leifson and Olsen alleged to have been the ones responsible. The other three are believed to have helped concoct an alibi for the pair.
In 2005, several indictments were filed against the group:
- April – Brunson was charged with perjury and lying to a federal agent.
- August – Blackmore was indicted on charges of perjury and lying to a federal agent.
- September – Olsen was charged with 15 counts of lying to a grand jury.
- October – Jeppson was charged with perjury and lying to a federal agent.
- November – Leifson was indicted on charges related to perjury.
Jeppson was convicted of four counts of perjury on September 2007, and sentence to five years in prison. He was later charged in relation to Kiplyn’s presumed murder, but reached a plea deal with prosecutors, pleading no contest to obstruction of justice. In return, he could no longer be charged in connection to the 15-year-old’s case.
Brunson struck a plea deal in December 2005, pleading guilty to six counts of perjury and lying to an FBI agent, while Blackmore made a similar deal and was sentenced to 13 months in prison. In 2011, the latter pleaded guilty to two more counts of perjury and was sentenced to 36 months probation.
Leifson and Olsen were charged with Kiplyn’s murder, on top of their other indictments. The former pleaded guilty to a single county of perjury and was sentenced to five years in prison, while the latter was tried and convicted of perjury and sentenced to 12-and-a-half years behind bars. He subsequently pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in relation to Kiplyn’s death and was sentenced to another 15 years.
Olsen alleged he’d saw another person strike Kiplyn on the head with a softball-sized rock and that, after, he’d helped move her body to Spanish Fork Canyon. He refused to name the individual, only revealing that they were one of the other suspects who’d pleaded guilty to perjury, and has never said where Kiplyn’s body is located. This prevented him from being granted parole in 2021, with the Board of Pardons saying he hadn’t cooperated “in good faith.”
The search for Kiplyn remains active. In the aftermath of her disappearance, her younger sister, Karissa Davis Lords, set up the Find Kiplyn Davis Facebook page, while her father wrote a book about the case, titled When an Angel Leaves Your Life. All money raised through its sale go toward a scholarship fund that was set up in his daughter’s honor.
DETAILS:
Kiplyn Davis went missing from Spanish Fork High School in Spanish Fork, Utah County, Utah, on May 2, 1995. She was 15 years old and was last seen wearing an off-white crewneck with a beige stripe; a light blue denim vest with beige stripes and a small designer tag; dark blue Bum Equipment-brand denim shorts; white Colorado-brand leather sandals with cork soles and three stripes on the front and two around the heel; a white Hanes-brand bra; and royal blue underpants.
She was also wearing two sterling-silver rings, one in the shape of a flower and the other shaped like a shield, with the letters “CTR” on it and flowers on either side. While she had pierced ears and was supposed to wear a retainer, she wasn’t wearing it or earrings on the day she disappeared.
At the time she went missing, Kiplyn stood between 5’2″ and 5’4″ and weighed 110-120 pounds. She had a fair complexion, with freckles and curly red/auburn hair that fell below her shoulders. Her eyes were light blue, and she had a small birthmark on the back of her neck.
CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:
Kiplyn’s case is currently classified as a non-family abduction. DNA and dentals are available, should her remains be located.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Spanish Fork Police Department at either (801) 798-5070 or (801) 804-4700. Tips can also be called into the local FBI field office at (801) 374-5332.
Image Credit: NamUs/Find Kiplyn Davis
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