‘It’s been an absolute nightmare’: Hayes family speak out after filing victim rights complaint

WASATCH COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — The family of Patrick Hayes filed a complaint against the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) and the Attorney’s Office (WCAO). Now, they’re speaking about their loss and the reason behind their victim rights complaint.

In September 2024, 61-year-old Patrick L. Hayes was shot and killed during a road rage incident. In December of 2024, Law Enforcement arrested Greg Kyle DeBoer, who says he shot Hayes in self-defense.

DeBoer reportedly admitted that he did not call emergency services after shooting Hayes and burying the gun he used. He was charged with one count of Obstruction of Justice.

This week, the Fourth District Victim Rights Committee discussed a complaint filed by the Hayes family, which alleged that WCAO and WCSO failed to adequately communicate with them, among other complaints.

ABC4 spoke with the Hayes family and their representatives to discuss the complaint that they filed and the difficulties since Patrick Hayes died.

“Now we’re in a situation where Wasatch County, who is prosecuting the case, has refused to file a homicide charge,” said Jim Bradshaw, a victim representative and attorney representing the Hayes family said, discussing the impact this has had on the Hayes family, “It’s been frustrating for friends of Pat and his family and his loved ones, because there’s no justice for what happened here.”

According to Bradshaw, the Victim Rights Committee has decided to go forward with investigating the potential violations from the WCSO and WCAO, a process that may take a while and that is happening in conjunction with DeBoer’s criminal case.

He says that the Hayes family hopes that a jury is able to consider homicide in DeBoer’s case, but they can only consider charges brought against a defendant.

Sue Ann Kern, who was Patrick’s fiancée, also spoke about her experience since Hayes died. She said, “It’s been an absolute nightmare. Whenever we found out that Patrick had been killed, we found that he had been lying in the street for over twelve hours.”

“For the first month or so did we just think we’re not going to find out who killed him, but then they found him,” Kern said, saying that law enforcement knew that DeBoer posed a threat to public safety but did not arrest him right away.

“What that tells me is they don’t care about community safety. They don’t care about justice for Patrik. They care about how it looks,” Kern alleged, “All the actions that I’ve seen have had nothing to do with finding justice for Patrick.”

She also stated that security footage of the confrontation between Hayes and DeBoer shows DeBoer as the aggressor and indicates that it is not a clear-cut case of self-defense.

And while Kern and Bradshaw can’t say if the Victim Rights’ Committee’ investigation will change DeBoer’s ongoing case, Kern is hopeful that they will get answers behind WCAO and WCSO’s decision not to prosecute DeBoer for homicide.

“I would hope that having the committee rule in favor that we haven’t had our victim rights honored and that we weren’t treated the way we should be treated will help bring more attention to the case,” Kern added.

Bradshaw also provided the following statement:

We are pleased the victims’ rights committee is moving forward with an investigation into the conduct of the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office and the Wasatch County Attorney’s Office. These agencies have mistreated the family of Pat Hayes who was unjustifiably murdered. Rather than holding the shooter accountable, Wasatch County appears ready to sweep it all under the rug as a citizen exercising his constitutional right to bear arms. The family is seeking the public’s input and assistance in ensuring the integrity of proceedings.

Comments should be sent to the Fourth District Court re State v Greg Kyle DeBoer or to the Utah Attorney General’s Office.

ABC4 reached out to the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office and Wasatch County Attorney’s Office for comment and is waiting to hear back.