Two of the five hostages survived the Hi-Fi Shop attack: Orren Walker, 43, and Cortney Naisbitt, 16. Both lived with the consequences for the rest of their lives, and both have since died.
Orren Walker
Orren Walker survived being forced to drink Drano, shot at, nearly strangled, and stabbed in the ear with a ballpoint pen. He gave the description that helped identify Dale Pierre and was the prosecution’s main witness. He testified again at Pierre’s 1987 clemency hearing. He died on February 13, 2000, at age 69.
Cortney Naisbitt
Cortney Naisbitt, shot in the head, spent 266 days in the hospital and lived with severe brain damage. He returned to Ogden High School and graduated with his class in 1976, but the injury forced him out of college and he could not hold steady work. He married in 1985 and lived with chronic pain until his death on June 4, 2002, at age 44. His recovery is the subject of Gary Kinder’s book Victim.
The families
The crime reshaped both families. Cortney’s mother, Carol Naisbitt, and Orren’s son, Stanley Walker, were among the three killed. Read more on the victims and survivors page.