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Utah County murder prosecution has a lawmaker looking to change the state’s manslaughter statute to include assisted suicide

Tyerell Przybycien is charged with first-degree felony murder for allegedly helping his friend commit suicide, but the defense claims the charge is too harsh.

(Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune) Defendant Tyerell Joe Przybycien, 18, of Spanish Fork, sits during his preliminary hearing, Wednesday, August 23, 2017. Przybycien is charged with first-degree felony murder for buying items used by a 16-year-old girl to hang herself on May 5 in Utah County. Przybycien also recorded the girl's death, according to charges.

It’s what one Utah lawmaker calls a “sick case” — a teenager is accused of encouraging a friend to kill herself, buying her the materials to do so and then filming the 16-year-old girl’s suicide on a cellphone.