Severely beaten woman dies; boyfriend faces murder charges


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SALT LAKE CITY — A woman who police say was severely beaten by her live-in boyfriend in Murray over the weekend was taken off life support Monday at a local hospital.

Because of the death of Alecia Sherman, 45, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office was expected Tuesday to file amended charges against 49-year-old Daniel Jay Folsom.

"We will be amending our charges today to indicate murder," said District Attorney Sim Gill.

Monday, Folsom was charged in Third District Court with attempted murder, a first-degree felony.

If you are a victim of domestic violence...
The state has a 24-hour hotline for residents of the state of Utah.

The number is 800-897-LINK, or 800-897-5465.

"We were under a deadline. At that time we filed the appropriate charges," Gill said.

After the charges were filed, Sherman passed away.

"We knew that the family would be going through a difficult decision," Gill said. "We've been monitoring this very closely."

Gill called it an unfortunate and tragic incident. He said Folsom had had prior dealings with law enforcement on domestic violence related issues.

"It's really sad, that poor woman what she had to go through in the last hours, just horrible," said neighbor Remmie Otto.

Sherman's death comes after a nearly decade long relationship with Folsom, one her family said was likely filled with abuse, but they weren't sure because she tried to hide it.

Neigbors too suspected abuse, but never saw physical evidence. Otto said that they had heard "yelling, arguing and stuff like that."

In the latest incident, police were called on Dec. 15 when Sherman ran to a neighbor's house and stated that Folsom was "out of control," according to charging documents. The neighbor noted that Sherman "appeared severely beaten."

When police arrived, they found a "large amount of blood" on Folsom's clothing.

Sherman was rushed into emergency surgery to remove blood clots and pressure on her brain, according to charging documents.

"We see a lot of domestic violence. There is just a lot out there, and it may be just that its being reported more - which is a good thing," said officer Kenny Bass with the Murray Police Department

According to a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - 1 in 4 women have been a victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in her lifetime. According to the Utah Department of Heath there is one domestic violence related death every month.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, the state has a 24-hour hotline for residents of the state of Utah.

The number is 800-897-LINK, or 800-897-5465.

Written byPat Reavy with contributions from [Shara Park](<mailto: spark@ksl.com>)

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