After he was stabbed a dozen times outside his Salt Lake City home last month, Linton Livingston told two women who came to help him as he lay bleeding on the ground that his neighbor had “tried to” kill him.
Livingston, 67, was taken to the hospital with stab wounds to his neck, a damaged spinal cord — and he could no longer breathe without medical assistance, court documents said.
On Saturday, less then a month after the Nov. 15 attack, Livingston died.
Meanwhile, his alleged attacker, 23-year-old Dyann Mariel Hernandez, was charged with attempted murder. But she could soon be charged with a more serious count of murder.
After Livingston’s death, the case was turned over to Salt Lake City homicide detectives. Det. Rob Ungricht said updated charges are likely after they finish their investigation, which could last a week or more.
Blake Nakamura with the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that prosecutors will be reviewing the case in light of Livingston’s death.
The two women who helped Livingston after he was stabbed told police they saw what happened just after midnight on Nov. 15, according to charges filed in 3rd District Court.
They said Hernandez left her home and walked up to Livingston, who was standing outside his house at 820 West Arapaho Ave. (650 South), then struck at Livingston with a “looping punching motion.” He fell and didn’t get up, and Hernandez allegedly left in a white SUV, documents state.
When the women went to check on him, Livingston told them, “Dyann tried to kill me.”
Police arrested Hernandez on Nov. 18 during a traffic stop, and she was booked into the Salt Lake County jail and charged with first-degree felony attempted murder less than a week later.
Ungricht said he’s not sure what prompted Hernandez’s alleged attack that night, but said witnesses told police the two had been feuding for some time.
“I just know they had some history of arguing with each other,” he said.
In an unrelated case, Hernandez has been charged with third-degree felony aggravated assault and class B misdemeanor child abuse.
About a month before Livingston was stabbed, Hernandez allegedly slapped her niece in the face and then choked the girl’s mother, according to charging documents.
The girl’s mother, told police the incident began when Hernandez came to their house and accused her daughter of “talking about her son.”
Livingston, who was born in Alabama, was remembered as a loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather in his obituary.
“He was an inventor, a crusader, a musician, and so much more,” the obituary reads. “He always made other a priority, help everyone he could. He will be greatly missed.”
