On August 14, 2006, Carole Alden was formally charged with first-degree felony murder, second-degree felony obstruction of justice, and desecration of a body, a third-degree felony. But supporters rallied to her defense, filling the judge's mailbox with sympathetic letters, excerpts from which also made their way to the Deseret Morning News:

“This letter is in support of leniency for Carole Sessions,” wrote the Rev. Stanley DeLong of the Delta Community Presbyterian Church. He performed the marriage of Alden to her husband, Martin Sessions.

“She is HONEST and TRUSTWORTHY!!! NOT A MURDERER!!!!!!!!!,” wrote friend Angela Western. “And may shame come upon those who have taken it upon themselves to deem themselves worthy of judging her in this manor (sic), they too shall pay the wages of sin in GODS eyes and what a heavy price they will pay!!!!”

“She has paid a heartbreaking price for her act of desperation brought on by chronic, intense stress and abuse,” wrote friends Rebecca Heal, Kristen Merrill and Michelle Nunley, members of the performing group known as the Saliva Sisters.

“Carole still has a vibrant career awaiting her, a history of success, and the ability to make a positive contribution to society,” wrote friend Joy Emory.2

“Friends hope that Alden's penitence is enough to persuade the judge to release her,” the article concluded.³

Millard County Jail volunteer chaplain Sylvia Huntsman, who also served on the area's domestic violence commission, was quoted in the Deseret Morning News saying: “Marty, her husband, frequently threatened to kill Carole and her children, describing in graphic detail how he would do it.”⁴

But behind the scenes, more nuance appears.

Sylvia Huntsman's knowledge of Marty and of the homicide, as she reveals in a telephone conversation, came from Carole herself. Huntsman had come to know Carole through weekly Sunday meetings at the Millard County Jail during the two-year period before Carole went on to the Utah State Prison in Draper.

“Carole is one of those people who will take in every stray dog,” says Huntsman affectionately. “She liked men who had bigger problems than kindness could fix. Marty had a terrible violence. She had hidden a gun in her laundry room that the police had told her to get to shoot coyotes.

“When she shot him the first time, she shot him in the head,” Huntsman says. “Carole believed he wasn't dead. That he was going to somehow get back up. So that's when she shot him again. That's why the second shot was in the back.” (This contradicts the physical evidence—it would have been impossible for the tiny Carole to have fired directly down through the top of Marty's head unless he was already down. And Carole herself told police that the head shot was the second shot.)

“So she decided to give him a Native American burial in her backyard,” Huntsman continues. “She just wasn't thinking. In her view, it was self-defense. Shooting him again and moving the body just wasn't logical. But she was traumatized—she wasn't thinking logically at the time.

“Carole's relationship with her kids is incredible. She has one older son she isn't close to. He's washed his hands of her. Her daughter Krystal is extensively educated, though—is graduating from college. And Carole is very close to her youngest—Emily. Her relationship with her kids is great and very honest. She hasn't put up a lot of excuses with them.

“What are her best traits? Oh, she's a gifted artist. A writer. Resilient. She's gone through hell and somehow has the self-confidence to come back. She's very loyal to friends and family. But she chooses people who tear her down because of her childhood experiences. She's very trusting. Very soft-hearted. Gets herself into situations because of that. She's had her eyes opened a lot in prison.

“During her childhood she was constantly put down by her father and told no man would ever want her. But she's actually worked through that. Women who are abused tend to get into relationships with abusive men. Yet she can always understand and forgive and love these men.”

(Carole's family takes issue with Huntsman's statement that Carole was constantly “put down” by her father, observing, “This is not at all true, but of course that seems to be Carole's reality now. Her father was always proud of her achievements and was quick to give praise as he did with the other kids.” Carole's family also notes there were times when Carole's actions caused much-deserved consternation and displeasure—she then heard about it from both parents, who presented a united front.)

“Carole is one of my closest friends, even though I don't get to see her very often,” Huntsman continues. “The sentence she got wasn't fair. Her lawyer was lazy. Her husband was genuinely going to kill her.

“Carole Alden is an open and honest person. A free spirit. She marched to her own drum. People in this part of the country didn't understand. She thinks and acts like an artist. She doesn't care what other people think. Local townsfolk weren't ready to accept her as one of them. She wasn't LDS [Mormon] and didn't conform in dress and behavior.

“She lived out on a farm and had llamas. Maybe she wasn't the best housekeeper. She was into Native American religion. She wasn't into drinking or taking drugs. She was hippie-like without the drugs. She hasn't channeled her thoughts into any particular religion or belief. But she believes. She has a true belief in God.

“The interesting thing is that she is not naive. She understands. And she forgives.”

One story that has passed into local lore since the murder is that of two men professionally connected to the local criminal justice system; the pair happened to stop by Hart's Gas & Food in Delta about two weeks before Marty Sessions's death. Carole's dragon-clad Jeep hove into view, and the men began laughing at her. But one thing led to another, and the pair shortly found themselves in conversation with Carole. Although their work had left them somewhat jaded about people's motives, to their amazement, they discovered that Carole seemed to actually be a nice person.

Climbing into their vehicle after the conversation with Carole, the pair commented on how their prejudice had misled them in their understanding of what kind of person she was. As one put it, “That just goes to show—not everybody's bad. We need to stop judging people like that—they're not all murderers.”