Ex-wife hit doctor hours before she died, Wall claims


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SALT LAKE CITY — Hours before his ex-wife was found dead, Johnny Wall told attorneys the woman hit him after he found her inside his garage and then chased her down.

He said he believed she was at his home looking for poisoned coffee grounds.

His story was part of three hours of videotaped depositions from March 22, 2013, that prosecutors played for jurors Tuesday.

Wall, 51, is on trial, charged with murdering Uta von Schwedler, 49, a University of Utah researcher who was discovered in an overflowing bathtub in her home at 1433 E. Harrison Ave. (1625 South) on Sept. 27, 2011.

During the interview, Wall talked about waking up either in the late evening of Sept. 26, 2011, or the early morning hours of Sept. 27 and finding von Schwedler going through his garage. He chased after her as she ran down the driveway, he said.

"I tried to grab her hand. She turned around and hit me in the face," Wall testified.

But Wall said he couldn't remember where in the face he was hit, if he was hit with her hand or an object or if it caused the scratch below his eye that police later found — something the prosecutor conducting the interview said she had a hard time believing.

A co-worker earlier testified that Wall told her his face had been scratched by his dog.

Wall said he suspected his ex-wife broke into his house or garage often.

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"There was something in my house Uta may have wanted," he said.

Wall claimed von Schwedler wanted an old coffee bag — possibly because she had poisoned the coffee with drugs she obtained at work that he believes caused his second wife to miscarriage twice.

"I believe that Uta believed that she hurt Kate's babies," Wall testified. "I think she was absolutely terrified that that would come forward. … I think Uta believed I still had the bag."

Wall was then asked why he kept an old coffee bag in his house for two years. But when pressed about details of his reported confrontation with von Schwedler hours before she was found dead, Wall said he couldn't remember a lot.

"It's been a long time. I'm trying to tell you what I remember. I'm not trying to mislead you," he said in the deposition.

Likewise, Wall said he couldn't remember the details surrounding the night he was summoned to the police department to answer questions nor when he returned home and told his children what had happened.

The interviewer continued to press Wall, asking how he could possibly forget such an important event as telling his young daughter that her mother was dead.

"I don't have the details you are asking for," he said. "Everything is really fuzzy."

Wall was also questioned about getting his car cleaned early in the morning on the day his ex-wife was found dead and telling the employees at the car wash to pay particular attention to a stain in the front passenger seat. Wall testified that he was already awake and wanted to get things done that morning, like have a stain left by a burrito cleaned. He said he wanted to take a woman on a date and thought a burrito stain wouldn't make a good impression.

"If I were to go to Barbacoa and attempt to recreate reddish-pink beans, what would I order?" Wall was asked during the deposition.

Wall was also questioned about von Schwedler's photo albums that had become a point of contention in their divorce. One of the albums was found in the bathtub with von Schwedler's body.

"Did you put it there?" Wall was asked under oath.


The photo albums were something that meant a great deal to (Uta and myself). They were the only way I had to remember a lot of really good times with the kids early on. I would like to spend more time looking at them so I can remember those times. I don't feel like I'm suing Pelle. What I feel like I'm asking for is the return of photo albums. … I want to remember wonderful times. I want to remember my children's childhoods. I really don't see this as a suit against my 18-year-old son.

–John Brickman Wall


"No, I didn't," he replied.

Wall was then asked why he would sue his own son, Pelle Wall, over possession of the albums.

"The photo albums were something that meant a great deal to (Uta and myself). They were the only way I had to remember a lot of really good times with the kids early on. I would like to spend more time looking at them so I can remember those times," he said. "I don't feel like I'm suing Pelle. What I feel like I'm asking for is the return of photo albums. … I want to remember wonderful times. I want to remember my children's childhoods. I really don't see this as a suit against my 18-year-old son."

Von Schwedler had offered to make digital copies of all the photos in the album for about $11,000, Wall said. He said he didn't have that much money, and the person taking the deposition asked why he believed a civil lawsuit would be any cheaper.

Later, when Wall was asked about why he couldn't remember details about his police interrogation, he replied, "It's pretty darn overwhelming.

"I just remember feeling totally overwhelmed, totally traumatized," he said, noting that he was upset over von Schwedler's death. "The whole thing being too much for the type of person that I am … It's like one big horrible blur."

Wall said he didn't think he needed an alibi, "since I didn't commit a crime."

"Is it possible you killed Uta and didn't remember?" Wall was asked.

"No, absolutely not," he replied. "I have never wanted to kill Uta. I have never said to anybody that I wanted to kill Uta. I would never have even thought that."

The Wall trial is expected to continue for at least another week. Jurors will be asked to decide whether Wall killed his ex-wife or if a distressed von Schwedler, who had a large amount of Xanax in her system that her family said she didn't have a prescription for, committed suicide.

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