Condemned killer Ralph Menzies dies of natural causes in Utah hospital

Fox 13 Salt Lake City ^ | November 26, 2025 | Ben Winslow

[TheDon]

SALT LAKE CITY — Death row inmate Ralph Leroy Menzies died Wednesday from natural causes in a hospital, ending a nearly 40-year effort by the state of Utah to try to execute him.

The 67-year-old Menzies was facing execution for the 1986 kidnapping and killing of Maurine Hunsaker. She was kidnapped from her job at a Kearns gas station, driven to Big Cottonwood Canyon where she was tied to a tree and her throat slit.

Menzies' original execution was halted earlier this year after his attorneys raised concerns about his mental state due to his dementia, and the Utah Supreme Court ruled that he was entitled to a new evaluation.

Menzies' legal team had argued that executing him with dementia would violate the U.S. Constitution right against cruel and unusual punishment.

"It’s a sense of relief if you will. It’s over. The chapter is closed," Hunsaker's son, Matt, told FOX 13 News on Wednesday. "We knew as a family this year — the 40th anniversary — there was going to be an end to all means. We just didn’t expect it this way. He got away with not being executed. But his life is over. And it’s a chapter we can close and move on now."

...

[Dawgreg]

“We have got to do away with the endless appeals. It is beyond ridiculous.”
I totally agree!

[metmom]

Menzies' original execution was halted earlier this year after his attorneys raised concerns about his mental state due to his dementia, and the Utah Supreme Court ruled that he was entitled to a new evaluation. Menzies' legal team had argued that executing him with dementia would violate the U.S. Constitution right against cruel and unusual punishment.

He didn't have dementia when he slaughtered her.

He should have gotten his appointment with God YEARS ago.

What a travesty.

[metmom]

Let’s hope the DC “allahu akbar” shooter gets his well deserved “reward” much sooner.

I agree completely, however we need to be very aware that if true justice is done, the islamist terrorists (but I repeat myself) WILL retaliate.

I fully expect a bunch of *isolated incidents* by someone shouting *allahu akbar* while democrats can't figure out what caused the attack. But it won't be terrorism.

[utax]

What a joke. But at least the shysters, judges, court personnel and shrinks made $$Millions in taxpayer dollars over the decades. Hope he’s now getting what he deserves.