A federal grand jury has indicted a Uintah County man on second degree murder charges following the death of his mother in July 2025. According to court documents, Philip Bernard Weston, also known as Philip Bernard Mahpiya-Wicasta, age 52, of Ft. Duchesne, Utah, allegedly beat his elderly mother with his bare hands inside her home after she refused to let him use her car.
Authorities state that on or about July 13, 2025, law enforcement responded to an emergency alert at the victim’s residence. The victim, who was hearing impaired and often used social media to communicate, had contacted an out-of-state relative through her tablet seeking help. When police arrived at the scene, Weston answered the door and claimed his mother was present and unharmed. However, officers saw the victim on the ground surrounded by blood and immediately took Weston into custody.
Inside the house, officers reportedly observed blood in several areas and found a tablet near the victim. The woman was transported to a hospital in Roosevelt, Utah. She gave statements about the incident using American Sign Language through an interpreter before being transferred to a trauma center in Salt Lake City for further treatment. She later died from her injuries, which included multiple broken ribs; severe chest trauma; broken clavicles; multiple head injuries including a four-inch laceration on her forehead; eye damage; scalp hematoma; hemothorax; collapsed lung; fractured sternum; vertebrae injuries; and other wounds.
Weston is charged with murder in the second degree while within Indian Country. His initial appearance is scheduled for August 20, 2025 at 2:00 p.m., before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in Salt Lake City.
Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah announced the indictment.
The case is under investigation by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office and Vernal Resident Agency.
Assistant United States Attorneys Sam Pead and Tanner Zumwalt are prosecuting this case.
According to information from the Department of Justice, this case falls under Operation Take Back America—a national initiative aimed at countering illegal immigration and eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), as well as protecting communities from violent crime by streamlining resources from various DOJ task forces.
This prosecution is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which brings together law enforcement agencies and community groups to reduce violent crime rates nationwide. In May 2021, the Department launched a strategy designed to strengthen PSN’s effectiveness by focusing on building trust within communities, supporting violence prevention efforts led by local organizations, setting strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring outcomes.
“An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
