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WEST VALLEY CITY — 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.
Jeffery Allan Larson, 29, is being held in the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of attempted murder, obstructing justice and theft. West Valley police believe Larson choked the 24-year-old victim multiple times during an altercation at West View Park, 4100 S. 6000 West, early Sunday.
"The (woman) is in critical condition and still unresponsive at this time," a Salt Lake County Jail report states.
Larson allegedly left the woman unconscious inside a vehicle at the park following the attack.
"(Larson) went home and changed his clothing before returning back to the park where he called 911 from the victim's cellphone to report her in the vehicle there and did not identify himself to the dispatcher," the report states.
Larson also destroyed and threw away the woman's cellphone in order to avoid detection, according to investigators. Officers discovered the woman and eventually identified Larson as the 911 caller, said West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku. He was arrested late Sunday.
The woman's injuries are "consistent with strangulation," the report says.
One of the woman's co-workers, who didn't want to be identified, said the victim would have been on her way to her job when she was attacked. She works overnight, he said, and didn't show up to work. The man also said the victim had recently moved to Utah from India.
Larson and the woman "were known to each other," Vainuku told KSL, though she said she couldn't provide more details.
A search of state court records indicates Larson has no significant prior criminal history in Utah.
Contributing: Mike Anderson
