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SALT LAKE CITY — Following a three-day trial, a jury has determined that Thomas James Valdez is guilty of murder in the death of his girlfriend.
In addition to the first-degree felony murder charge, the 45-year-old man was also found guilty of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony.
Police found Maralee Andreason, 55, dead in the couple's West Valley City apartment on March 9, 2010. It was determined that the woman died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, which caused her to bleed to death, prosecutors said.
But the man was adamant that the woman, who suffered from heart problems, had fallen in the bathroom and suffered a heart attack.
The man's sister, though, had allegedly called their uncle and said Valdez told her he killed the woman. She later testified that she just relayed that her brother said that the woman had died — not that the man had killed her.
Defense attorneys reiterated at trial that the two were in love and that Valdez had just purchased wedding rings for them. They reported that Valdez held Andreason for hours after her death.
Prosecutors, however, pointed to the fact that he never called 911 and no one found Andreason until nearly 24 hours after her death to show that the man was really just trying to do "damage control."
Valdez will be sentenced Sept. 9.
Email:emorgan@ksl.com
