Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WEST VALLEY CITY — A man who police say tried to kill two women before he was beaten with a hammer was arrested Wednesday.
Joseph Patrick Nesbitt, 25, of Orem, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of two counts of attempted murder, three counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child and criminal mischief.
Nesbitt was with a group of people in an apartment, near 3800 West and 3400 South, about 1 a.m. Wednesday when he got into an argument with his girlfriend, said West Valley Police Sgt. Mike Powell.
The confrontation turned physical and Nesbitt choked his girlfriend until she passed out, Powell said. A second woman tried to help her friend and Nesbitt choked her, too, until she also became unconscious.
The second woman's boyfriend came in and saw the two women lying on the floor and thought they had been killed.
"He sees what he thought were two dead bodies and he goes after the suspect," Powell said.
The man was somehow able to grab a hammer and use it to hit Nesbitt's face several times before using his fists, according to police.
When officers arrived, Nesbitt was taken to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries before being booked into jail. The man with the hammer was not arrested.
The two women were treated at the scene.
Email:preavy@ksl.com
