A teen was sentenced to juvenile detention for up to three years after admitting Monday that he killed a pregnant woman and two of her children while driving drunk.
Tears flowed in 3rd District Juvenile Court as Christopher Williams forgave Cameron Howard White for killing four members of his family.
But when Judge Andrew Valdez asked White to tell where he got a bottle of vodka that night, White's attorney quickly interrupted.
"I need to review that," Richard Van Wagoner told the judge. "He has not waived his Fifth Amendment rights [against self-incrimination]."
Valdez told White he would not force him to go against the advice of his attorney, but added: "You know how important it is for [the family] to know, Cameron. What they want is heartfelt."
Earlier in the hearing, Christopher Williams' mother, Nadine Williams, had told White, "The one decent thing you could do is tell who gave you the liquor."
White, who had partially consumed a bottle of Smirnoff watermelon vodka, was driving his mother's Jeep Cherokee south on 2000 East beneath the Interstate 80 overpass about 9:40 p.m. on Feb. 9 when he swerved across the median and struck a Volkswagen Passat driven by 42-year-old Christopher Williams.
Williams' wife, Michelle Williams, 41, who was seven months pregnant; their son, Ben, 11, and daughter, Anna, 9, were killed.
Christopher Williams and another son, Sam, 6, were injured. Another son, Michael, 14, was not in the car that night.
White, then 17, left the scene on foot and was arrested several blocks away, where he told police he was too drunk to perform field sobriety tests. He also told police he drank alcohol on a daily basis, according to testimony from White's May 10 certification hearing.
A blood test measured White's blood-alcohol level at 0.15 percent, nearly twice Utah's legal limit of 0.08.
White pleaded guilty Monday to four counts of second-degree felony automobile homicide.
In exchange for his guilty pleas, prosecutors agreed to drop third-degree felony and class A misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of an injury accident.
Earlier this month, Valdez decided against ordering White to stand trial in adult court, where the teen would have faced up to 30 years at Utah State Prison.
Valdez said the juvenile court system - which has jurisdiction over White only until he turns 21 - offered White a better chance at rehabilitation and the best chance for long-term protection of the community.
White thanked the judge for that decision on Monday, saying: "You saved my life."
He also thanked the victims' families. "I want you to know how much I love you," White said with a sob.
Nadine Williams said she has tried not to be angry with White, but that was made more difficult when she learned he had twice been referred to juvenile court last year for fighting and brandishing a knife at Skyline High School.
"I want you to know you have destroyed a family," Nadine Williams told the teen. "I think he should have the full three years with no parole."
Michelle Williams' mother, Audrea Dorney, who lives near the Whites and knew Cameron White as a young boy, said she is not convinced prison wouldn't have been more appropriate.
"I truly hope this is a wake-up call for you," she added.
How long White actually stays incarcerated will be determined by the Youth Parole Authority, the juvenile equivalent of the state parole board.
Christopher Williams told the court he wanted "peace and healing rather than retribution," adding that he hopes White will "make something of himself."
The judge said that could be accomplished, in part, if White chooses to speak to other teens about the dangers of drinking and driving.
"You still decide who you are and what you will become," Valdez told White. "I believe you can do it. It's one reason I kept you in the juvenile system. It's on you now."