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WEST VALLEY CITY — A murder charge was filed Friday, just hours after a woman died from injuries she suffered when police say she was choked unconscious nearly three weeks ago.
Jeffery Allan Larson, 29, of Magna, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, after police say he strangled the woman in the back seat of a car.
On Oct. 15, Larson got into an argument with Nisha Fnu in the parking lot of a Smith's grocery store, 5620 W. 4100 South. Larson and Fnu got into the back seat of a car and their argument turned into a physical fight, the charging documents state.
Larson grabbed Fnu by the neck twice, and her "eyes rolled to the back of her head and she began to shake as if having a seizure," according to the charges. Larson allegedly told investigators he let go and tried to revive Fnu, who at that point was unconscious, but he knew she "was in bad shape."
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Man choked woman, left her unconscious in car, police say
A woman remained hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday with injuries she suffered when police say a Taylorsville man choked her inside a car at a park Sunday.Larson drove his car to West View Park, 4100 S. 6000 West, then walked back to Smith's to drive Fnu's car to the park, at which time he moved her from the back seat of one vehicle to the other and then left, the charges state. When police say Larson drove by the park at 6:25 a.m. the next day and discovered she was still there, he made an anonymous 911 call.
After making the call, Larson threw the phone out the window as he drove away because he was "going to get busted," and then threw the battery out the window at another location, according to the charges. Police recovered the phone in a ditch near 9200 West and 2800 South.
Fnu spent several days on life support in a local hospital but never regained consciousness or showed signs of improvement, the charges state. She died just before 7:30 a.m. Friday.
Larson is being held in the Salt Lake County Jail on $1 million bail.
