SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: A Utah man has reportedly been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after admitting to murdering his wife and injuring his seven-year-old daughter, who tried to save her mother from him.
John Weston Erickson Jr, 44, appeared in a Salt Lake City court on Wednesday, August 9, when Judge Richard McKelvie handed down his sentence for murdering his wife, Utahna Halona, on October 28, 2020.
On June 5, Erickson pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree felony murder for stabbing Halona and slitting her throat in front of their two young children, who were seven and 11 at the time.
Judge McKelvie told Erickson that he was handing down the maximum sentence for his crime. “Mr. Erickson, you deserve to go to prison — what you did here was unconscionable,” the judge said as per KSL TV 5.
Who is John Weston Erickson Jr?
Erickson is a 44-year-old Utah native who was arrested in October 2020 after stabbing his wife to death. The incident took place on October 28, 2020, when officers responded to a 911 call about a stabbing at a home located in the 100 block of Settlement Circle.
The 911 call was placed after Erickson’s 11-year-old son ran to a neighbor’s home for help, screaming that his father was trying to kill his mother, according to a criminal complaint obtained by People.
Upon their arrival, officers with the Salt Lake City police department found blood outside the Ericksons' home and the two terrified children at the neighbor’s home.
Erickson’s daughter had “blood on her face, clothes, and severe cuts on her hand.” She told officers that "she tried to stop her father, John Weston Erickson, from killing her mother," according to the report.
“[She] suffered extensive injury to her fingers which required surgery to repair,” according to the complaint. She said that she heard her mother screaming for help and hurried to their bedroom to find Erickson on top of her.
The girl reportedly saw her father with a knife, "cutting my mom open," the complaint stated. She then ran out of the room and called her brother, who kicked and punched Erickson before running to get help.
Was John Weston Erickson Jr mentally ill?
Police found Erickson on the bed in the master bedroom with a knife on his chest. He also had life-threatening cuts on his neck and wrist.
Halona was found stabbed to death next to Erickson, who told the police she was dead. He told them, “I meant for that. I just f*****g snapped. 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.
Erickson told authorities that he was attempting to kill himself when "someone came in and tried to stop him so he turned the knife on her instead," a pre-sentencing report stated.
Erickson was charged with murder, child abuse and two counts of commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
