In a quiet home in Duchesne, Utah, the life of Guy Wells Mecham, a 51-year-old Caucasian male, came to a sudden and violent end on the evening of August 2, 2017. What began as a domestic argument escalated into a tragedy that would leave a family grieving and a community in shock.
Earlier that day, Mecham and his girlfriend, Stephanie Dawn Payan, had been arguing at the residence they shared with Payan's teenage daughter.
The disagreement was serious enough to compel Mecham to leave the house for several hours. In his absence, a sense of foreboding seemed to settle over the home as Payan reportedly gave her daughter her credit card and some cash, ominously stating, "you're going to need this." The mother and daughter also discussed the uncertain future of Payan's relationship with Mecham.
When Mecham returned later that evening, the argument reignited. He went to the master bedroom where Payan and her daughter were and announced that he was leaving her. As Mecham walked out of the bedroom, Payan retrieved a handgun. She followed him down the hallway and fired a single shot, striking him in the back. Despite the fatal wound, Mecham managed to make his way back to the bedroom. In his final moments, he handed his cellphone to Payan's daughter and pleaded with her to call 911.
However, Payan allegedly intervened, taking the phone from her daughter and preventing the call for help. Instead, she instructed her daughter to pack her belongings and then called the girl's father, confessing that she had just shot Mecham. The girl's father, upon hearing the devastating news, urged Payan to contact emergency services and then promptly called 911 himself to report the shooting. Payan eventually made her own call to 911, informing the dispatcher that she had shot Mecham and that he might be dead. When the first sheriff's deputy arrived, they found a grim scene: Payan was sitting in a vehicle outside, her daughter was in her bedroom, and Guy Wells Mecham lay deceased in the doorway of the master bedroom.
Stephanie Dawn Payan was taken into custody and subsequently booked into the Duchesne County Jail. She was initially investigated for murder, domestic violence in the presence of a minor, and interruption of a communication device. In the ensuing legal proceedings, Payan's defense attorneys argued that she had acted in self-defense, portraying her as a survivor of domestic abuse. They claimed that on the day of the shooting, Mecham had been in a rage, demanded money, and had a history of violence. Ultimately, Payan pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter. In a decision that considered the complexities of the case, the conviction was further reduced to a class A misdemeanor. Payan was sentenced to three years of probation and 500 hours of community service, with a suspended one-year jail term.
