Devastated parents speak out after daughter, 17, was shot dead by strangers while driving to see groomer who was sexually abusing her

By NATASHA ANDERSON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:38, 5 June 2026 | Updated: 20:44, 5 June 2026 The devastated parents of the 17-year-old girl who was shot dead while driving to see a groomer who had been abusing her have spoken out as the last suspect in her murder prepares to face a jury. KayLee Dutton died on a lonely stretch of road near Cedar City, Utah in January last year when a group of strangers fired 12 bullets into her red pickup truck. She was struck seven times, crashed her vehicle into a fence and passed away that night at Cedar City Hospital. Four men were subsequently charged with chasing and gunning KayLee down. They were strangers to the teen and allegedly thought she was stalking them.  Now, with the final suspect in her death expected to stand trial this summer, her heartbroken mother Kimberlee has revealed the last words her daughter ever wrote to her.  'I got a text from her at 9:45 that night, saying, "Just checking in",' Kimberlee told KSL-TV in an interview earlier this week. Less than an hour later, Kimberlee received a panicked call from the teen's best friend telling her that KayLee was being taken away in an ambulance. Kimberlee and her husband Waylon rushed to the crash site and found the truck in a wooded area, smashed through a fence. KayLee Dutton died on a lonely stretch of road near Cedar City, Utah in January last year when a group of strangers fired 12 bullets into her red pickup truck Kimberlee Dutton said her daughter texted her about an hour before the killing, writing: 'Just checking in' Waylon was in a state of shock and disbelief, while his wife says she was so overwhelmed by grief that she collapsed to the ground. 'I just remember falling to the dirt and begging God, "Please don't take my baby. Not my baby",' Kimberlee recalled. Seventeen months later, the Duttons say the pain of losing their daughter has not even begun to ease. The couple, hailing her as a 'wild child' and 'daredevil,' remember how she loved being outdoors, bull riding and dirt biking.  Four men, all of whom were roommates, were arrested and charged in connection to KayLee's killing. Ethan Andrew Galloway, the shooter, and Michael Hess-Witucki, the driver, were both sentenced to 15 years to life after pleading guilty to killing her. The pair believed she had been stalking them, court documents state. Galloway and Hess-Witucki saw KayLee's car at their home block and chased after it in a black 2018 Chevrolet Silverado, flashing their high beam headlights. KayLee Dutton died on a lonely stretch of road near Cedar City, Utah in January last year when a group of strangers fired 12 bullets into her red pickup truck. She was struck seven times and crashed her vehicle into a fence The shooter Ethan Andrew Galloway, left, and driver Michael Hess-Witucki, right, were both sentenced to 15 years to life after pleading guilty to killing her Aldric Felipe, left, was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and possession or transfer of a firearm by a restricted person charges. Matthew Sorber-Petrie, right, is expected to stand trial on murder and multiple firearm charges this summer. He has pleaded not guilty KayLee and her 18-year-old friend saw the pickup truck pursuing them and drove almost six miles north and then west out of town. Hess-Witucki then pulled alongside them and Galloway sprayed the car with bullets. KayLee's friend survived with only a leg injury and called 911 at around 10.32pm. Dispatch audio indicates that first responders arrived at the scene 20 minutes later. A local SWAT team arrested Galloway and Hess-Witucki outside their home at about 5.45pm the following day. Their roommates Aldric Felipe and Matthew Sorber-Petrie were also taken into custody. Felipe last year pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and possession or transfer of a firearm by a restricted person charges. He was sentenced to three years probation. Sorber-Petrie is expected to stand trial on murder and multiple firearm charges this summer. He has pleaded not guilty. Although he stayed behind on the night of the attack, prosecutors allege that he had knowledge of his friends' plan to chase and gun down KayLee's truck.  He is also accused of supplying the AR-15 gun used in the killing. KayLee's parents,hailing her as a 'wild child' and 'daredevil,' remember how she loved being outdoors, bull riding and dirt biking KayLee was shot while driving near the home of Justin Driffill, a 27-year-old man who was convicted of sexually abusing her KayLee was shot while driving near the home of Justin Driffill, a 27-year-old man who was convicted of sexually abusing her. He was arrested in October 2024 and pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct with a 16-17-year-old in July last year. A judge sentenced him to one year behind bars. Driffill was not charged in connection to Dutton's death.  Kimberlee previously told KTVK that she believed that her daughter might still be alive today if the relationship with Driffill had never started. 'If it weren't for that, I just, we all just truly believe that she wouldn't have been in that neighborhood that night, and she would still be here,' she said.  She also said she believed that KayLee had been in love with him. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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