Utahna Halona Erickson and her children.Photo:GiveLively.org
GiveLively.org
A Utah man who admitted he “snapped” when he fatally attacked his wife with a knife in 2020 has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, authorities said.
On Tuesday, John Weston Erickson, Jr., 44, appeared in court in Salt Lake City where Judge Richard McKelvie handed down the sentence for the first-degree felony murder of Erickson’s wife, Utahna Halona, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in a statement.
Erickson pleaded guilty on June 5 to the Oct. 28, 2020, murder of his wife in front of their two children, who were 7 and 11 at the time.
The judge told Erickson he was handing down the maximum sentence for his crime.
“You took the life not only of your wife, but you took the life of your wife while she was in the process of trying to save yours. If you had allowed her to be successful, she would still be here and we wouldn’t be [here]. I hope you understand that,” McKelvie said.
John Weston Erickson.Salt Lake County
Salt Lake County
Just after 6 p.m. on the night of the murders, police responded to a domestic violence call at the family’s home.
Arriving officers found blood outside the Ericksons' home and the two terrified children at the neighbor’s house.
The girl had “blood on her face, clothes and severe cuts on her hand,” according to the complaint.
The 7-year-old daughter “said she tried to stop her father, John Weston Erickson, from killing her mother," the complaint states.
The girl said she heard her mother scream for help and ran to their bedroom where she saw Erickson on top of her. The girl allegedly then saw her father with a knife, “cutting my mom open,” the complaint states.
The child tried to get the knife away from her father, but cut her hand in the process.
“[She] suffered extensive injury to her fingers which required surgery to repair,” according to the complaint.
She then ran out of the room to get her brother’s help.
“[Her brother] kicked and punched [Erickson] and then ran for help,” the complaint states.
Police found Erickson on the bed in the master bedroom with a knife on his chest. He had cuts on his neck and wrists.
Halona, 41, was found fatally stabbed on the floor next to the bed.
Erickson allegedly told police that his wife was dead and “I meant for that.”
“I just f—— snapped,” he told officers, according to the complaint. “One of the sweetest people around took the brunt of my rage.”
“[Erickson] admitted that he cut Utahna’s throat and knew she was going to die,” the complaint stated.
His son told police the same thing, saying, “It was my dad that made this happen,” the complaint said.
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Erickson also told police he was trying to kill himself when “someone came in and tried to stop him so he turned the knife on her instead,” according to a pre-sentencing report,KSL.comreports.
Erickson was charged with murder, child abuse and two counts of commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
“During sentencing the courtroom was full of people that loved Utahna and paid tribute to her life and devotion to her family. We mourn the loss of Utahna and what her children have lost because of this vicious murder,” Gill said in the statement following the hearing.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
