A Utah man has been charged with murder, two weeks after he reportedly stabbed his wife to death in front of their two young children — one of whom was wounded while trying to save her mother.
John Weston Erickson, 41, of Midvale, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony; child abuse, a second-degree felony; and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, third-degree felonies. He is being held without bail in the Salt Lake County jail.
On Oct. 28, police were called to a home at 115 Settlement Circle in Midvale, where a man was reportedly stabbing his wife. When they arrived, they found “a large amount of blood throughout the residence,” and the body of Utahna Halona Erickson, 41, in the master bedroom, according to charging documents.
(Photo courtesy of the Salt Lake County jail) John Weston Erickson has been charged with stabbing his wife to death.
John Erickson was also found in the bedroom with “deep lacerations” to his arms and neck — he told police he had tried to kill himself. John Erickson was hospitalized for treatment of his wounds and released on Oct. 31, when he was jailed.
According to police, the Ericksons' 7-year-old daughter told them she heard her mother scream and, when she went to help, saw her father “cutting my mom” with a knife. When she tried to “help,” she was cut on the hand, suffering an “extensive injury to her fingers” that “required surgery,” police wrote.
The girl ran to get her 11-year-old brother, who hit their father but was unable to stop the attack, according to court documents. The boy ran to a neighbor’s house to get help, later telling police “it was my dad” who killed his mother.
According to police, John Erickson admitted he killed his wife after he “snapped.”
Editors' note: Those who are experiencing intimate partner violence, or know someone who is, can also call the Utah Domestic Violence Link Line, 1-800-897-LINK (5465), or the Utah Rape and Sexual Assault Crisis Line, 1-888-421-1100. To report child abuse and neglect, call the Division of Child and Family Services hotline at 1-855-323-DCFS. For emergencies, call 911.
