UPDATE: Suspect jailed in Midvale domestic violence homicide
Oct 28, 2020, 8:34 PM | Updated: Jan 26, 2021, 6:56 am
MIDVALE, Utah –Unified Police report that John Weston Erickson was released from the hospital and booked into the Salt Lake County jail on Saturday.
He is facing felony charges of murder and child abuse.
The Unified Police Department says that on Wednesday, Oct. 28, Utahna Halona, 41, was stabbed by her husband, John Weston Erickson, 41. Police say their two children saw the incident and ran to a neighbor’s house before help arrived.
“We had children that ran to a neighbor’s house that said their dad was attacking [their] mother,” said Unified Police Sgt. Melody Cutler.
“When officers arrived on the scene, they spoke to the children, and found out that both parents were still inside the house.” Police then entered the home near 115 W. Settlement Circle and found the two individuals with stab wounds.
“They found a female who was in extremely critical condition, as well as a male,” Cutler said. “That individual had some wounds as well, that from … what we can tell at this point, were self-inflicted.”
Halona died after the fire department and paramedics arrived to administer aid, Cutler reported. Erickson was taken to Intermountain Medical Center in serious condition.
Cutler said their daughter, 7, sustained “a minor injury to her hand” from trying to defend or render aid to her mother. She was taken to a different hospital in fair condition.
“We think the little girl was trying to help or intervene,” Cutler said. Their other child, an 11-year-old boy, was with victim advocates while police officers notified the deceased woman’s parents that she’d been killed.
“We don’t know exactly what transpired that led to this incident,” Cutler said, noting that they were awaiting a search warrant so they could continue processing the crime scene. “It’s still really early in the investigation at this point.”
She said investigators would likely be at the house gathering evidence until morning.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month. If you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic violence, there is a 24/7 confidential hotline available for help: 1-800-897-5465. You can access the national hotline at thehotline.org where a confidential online chat is an option, as well as a 24-hour hotline.
