In 1982, a man was bludgeoned with an ax and burned.
By Steve Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune
DRAPER, Utah — Nearly 27 years after Mark Schoenfeld was brutally murdered as he slept in his Salt Lake City home, the man convicted of the slaying still says he didn’t do it. But he apologized for playing a role in the crime.
 Elroy Tillman arrives for a parole hearing at the Utah State Prison in Draper, Utah on Feb. 9. (AP Photo/Pool, Chris Detrick) |
During a Board of Pardons and Parole hearing Tuesday at Utah State Prison in Draper that could ultimately see him released from prison, 75-year-old Elroy Tillman blamed his then-girlfriend and his now-dead brother for killing Schoenfeld over a drug dispute.
Prosecutors had said jealousy drove Tillman to bludgeon then-28-year-old Schoenfeld with an ax and burn his bed, possibly while he was still alive, on the night of May 25, 1982. Schoenfeld was dating Tillman’s ex-girlfriend, Lori Groneman.
Tillman, who was 48 at the time of the crime, claims he believed Schoenfeld stole some speakers containing cocaine from his Bountiful storage unit. So he sent his brother and girlfriend, Carla Sagers, to “do whatever it takes to get the stuff -- in other words, kill him.”
Tillman said he remained outside of Schoenfeld’s home as the lookout man. He knew his brother hit Schoenfeld with a billy club, but he said he didn’t know about the fire or about the murder until the next morning when police arrested him.
Tillman said his brother was killed in 1993. Sagers was granted immunity for testifying against Tillman.
But tearful Groneman told the board Tuesday that the entire drug story was a fabrication. She said Tillman had stalked her and threatened her life long before Schoenfeld was killed. She begged the board to keep Tillman behind bars.
“I know he’s not done [killing]. He’ll never be done,” she said.
Schoenfeld’s family said in a statement that they are dealing with lasting effects from Mark’s slaying and still have no closure.
Tillman dismissed Groneman’s emotional plea as “a good performance” and said while he feels bad for Schoenfeld’s family, he also feels bad for his own family’s suffering.
Tillman initially was sentenced to death in January 1983, but in 2003 a judge vacated that punishment when an interview surfaced that described Sagers laughing about the crime.
The Board of Pardons and Parole will discuss Tillman’s case, but they have set no timetable for when they expect to rule.
The prison has recommended Tillman receive a parole date, and Tillman’s attorney, Loni DeLand, said his client has served enough years. While there are other inmates in the state prison who have been there longer, the average killer spends 20 years behind bars.
Board member Keith Hamilton said the board would not take into account the fact that Tillman was initially sentenced to death and told Tillman he doesn’t know what’s going to happen.
“You have to recognize there are some really bothersome aspects to this case,” he said. “We will decide to let you leave this prison, or we will decide to let you die in this prison.”