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- A southern Utah man, Gerald Lee Vandermeer, was charged Thursday with stabbing his neighbor to death.
- The incident occurred after Vandermeer allegedly tried to reconcile a barking dog dispute with the neighbor over drinks.
- Vandermeer claims limited memory of the fight, according to police.
CEDAR CITY — A dispute over barking dogs between neighbors in southern Utah culminated in one man stabbing and killing the other, according to police.
Gerald Lee Vandermeer, 55, was booked into the Iron County Jail on Wednesday and on Thursday was charged in 5th District Court with murder, a first-degree felony; possession of a weapon by a restricted person, a class A misdemeanor; drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, class B misdemeanors; and intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
He is accused of killing 45-year-old Cory Whittenburg after the two became "involved in a dispute ... over barking dogs," according to the Iron County Sheriff's Office.
Just before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, deputies responded to the area of 4200 West and 6800 North in Cedar City on a report of a stabbing. Vandermeer was found inside his car with "numerous lacerations to his hands and face," a police booking affidavit states.
"Deputies spoke with Vandermeer. He told deputies that he had met a neighbor a couple days prior and they had a dispute regarding their dogs. He told deputies that this evening, he had taken a case of beer to this neighbor in an attempt to smooth things over. He said they began drinking together. Gerald said that at some point, they began arguing and an altercation ensued," according to the affidavit.
Iron County Sheriff Kenneth Carpenter said Thursday the two men had not known each other long. A couple of days ago, he said the dispute between the two "was over victim's dogs running loose and stirring up suspect's dogs." Vandermeer told police he went to Whittenburg's residence on Wednesday to make amends. But as to what specifically their confrontation was about, "We don't know what it was last night," the sheriff said.
Not knowing the status of Whittenburg, the Iron County Metro SWAT team was sent to search his residence, which the sheriff's office says was a Conex shipping container. "They found the neighbor deceased with multiple stab wounds. THC gummies, a green leafy substance consistent with marijuana, and drug paraphernalia were also discovered in the victim's residence," the affidavit states.
After being treated for what Carpenter described as "mostly superficial" wounds, Vandermeer was released from the hospital and questioned again. He said he and his neighbor watched television and drank and talked.
But investigators noted that while Vandermeer "was able to provide significant details about the objects that were inside the victim's residence" and "provided substantial details about his interaction with the victim," he did not remember much about the fight with Whittenburg and "stated he could not remember how it started or what happened and that his memory of the altercation was extremely limited," according to the affidavit.
