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SOUTH SALT LAKE — A South Salt Lake man was charged Thursday with stabbing his 26-year-old girlfriend to death.
Angelo Terry Kirstine, 24, is charged in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony, and possession of a weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony. Bail was set at $1 million for Kirstine, who was sent back to the Utah State Prison for parole violations after his arrest.
On Jan. 15, the body of Ashley Vigil, 26, was found in an apartment at 820 W. 3900 South. During the night, Kirstine asked his 15-year-old sister if she would drive him to their grandmother's house. When the teen returned to the apartment, she walked through Vigil's bedroom on her way to the bathroom and noticed that Vigil was on the floor, according to charging documents.
"She initially thought Ashley had rolled off the bed … and was just sleeping," the charges state.
But after discovering blood on the light switch and the bathroom sink, the girl looked at Vigil more closely.
"She observed a hole in Ashley's throat. She said it looked like her throat had been slit and Ashley was unresponsive," according to the charges.
After arriving at his grandmother's house, Kirstine allegedly said "he needed a mental health evaluation" and was driven to the University Neuropsychiatric Institute at the University of Utah. When questioned by staff members, Kirstine said, "The cops were at my house, and they found a dead body at my house," according to charging documents.
South Salt Lake police had earlier stated that while half the family went to the hospital, the other half went to the apartment where Vigil's body was discovered and officers were called. Police arrested Kirstine at the hospital.
A motive for the killing was not provided in court documents.
Police: Man fatally stabbed girlfriend in South Salt Lake apartment
A 24-year-old man was arrested after police say he fatally stabbed his girlfriend early Tuesday morning.When he was arrested, police noted in an affidavit that "(Kirstine) was reported to have suffered from mental health-related disorders and had violent tendencies as a result of those mental health-related issues."
Kirstine was on parole at the time of his arrest. He was convicted in two separate cases of robbery in 2013 and was sentenced to one to 15 years at the Utah State Prison, according to court records. He was released from prison on parole in October.
In 2012, Kirstine was charged twice with aggravated assault in a pair of domestic violence-related incidents. Both cases were eventually thrown out when witnesses failed to come to court.
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting the YWCA's Women in Jeopardy program at 801-537-8600, or the confidential statewide Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online at udvc.org.
