Ralph Menzies: Board denies commutation, Sept. 5 execution will go forward

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole has declined to commute Ralph Menzies’ death sentence. His execution will go forward, and is scheduled for Sept. 5, 2025, by firing squad.

Menzies was convicted in 1988 for the 1986 aggravated murder, kidnapping, and robbery of Maurine Hunsaker. He was placed on death row, where he has remained for the last 37 years as appeals have been filed.

Menzies’ attorneys asked the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole (BOP) for a commutation hearing, citing a “worsening dementia” and declining health. They asked that his death sentence be commuted to life in prison without parole. The hearing was granted on July 29 and scheduled for last week.

Last week, before the second day of the commutation hearing, Judge Matthew Bates issued an order denying Menzies’ petition to reevaluate competency. This meant that the commutation hearing before the BOP was his only option left to escape the upcoming execution.

Today, the BOP issued an order stating that they will not be commuting Menzies’ death sentence. The order read as follows:

The Board heard and carefully considered the testimony of witnesses called by both Mr. Menzies and the State. The Board also heard and thoughtfully considered testimony from ten victim
representatives. After carefully reviewing all submitted information and considering all arguments from the parties, the Board does not find cause to commute Mr. Menzies’ death sentence. The Board hereby denies Mr. Menzies’ Commutation Petition and makes no change to the sentence imposed in case 031102598.
Blake R. Hills, Board of Pardons and Parole Chair

At the commutation hearing last week, the BOP heard from doctors who described how Menzies’ vascular dementia was impacting him. The family of Menzies’ victims also spoke, sharing their fears and horror that Menzies may not be executed.

“You’re going to put myself and my family through hell again,” Matt Hunsaker, Maurine’s son, said. “You guys didn’t have to grant him a commutation hearing, you choose to do this.”

The defense argued that Menzies is no longer a danger to anyone and asserted that he only had 5-7 years left to live. Ultimately, the BOP sided with the prosecution and the victims, deciding not to commute Menzies’ death sentence.

Who is Ralph Menzies?

On February 23, 1986, Maurine Hunsaker was abducted from the Gas-A-Mat convenience store and gas station in Kearns, Utah, where she was employed. Her husband called the convenience store and went in person when she did not pick up. When he arrived, he found that Hunsaker was missing, along with her purse.

According to documents, Hunsaker called the home phone and told her husband that she had been instructed to tell him she was kidnapped and robbed. A police officer spoke with Hunsaker, and she indicated that the kidnapper intended to release her.

Days later, on February 25, 1986, a hiker found Hunsaker deceased near a picnic area in Big Cottonwood Canyon. She had been strangled to death, according to the medical examiner, and her throat was cut. Marks on her wrists and scuffing on a nearby tree indicated that she had been tied to it somehow.

During this time, Menzies was booked into jail on an unrelated burglary charge. When officers were taking his possessions, Menzies ran away and hid in a changing room. Later, identification cards were located in the changing room’s hamper, and an officer realized that they belonged to Hunsaker.

Witnesses further connected Menzies to the disappearance and murder of Maurine Hunsaker, and some had even seen him with her on the night of her murder. In 1988, a jury found Menzies guilty, and he was placed on death row for the serious and senseless crime.