Kearns man repeatedly stabbed mother, told police 'she deserved it'

Kearns man repeatedly stabbed mother, told police 'she deserved it'

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KEARNS — A man accused of stabbing his mother 15 times and slitting her throat was charged with attempted murder Friday.

Jon Winters, 38, was charged in 3rd District Court with attempted murder, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated burglary, all first-degree felonies; as well as assaulting a police officer, a second-degree felony.

Winters showed up at the home of his mother, Edna Hakala, 60, 586 S. Le Chateau (5760 West), at 5:30 a.m. May 16, when Hakala was getting in her car, according to court documents. When the garage door opened, Winters walked in and began stabbing her, charges state. Court reports did not specify what he used to stab the woman.

Anytime Hakala tried to open the garage door, Winters would stab her, court documents state. Winters then took a hammer and hit his mother in the right side of her head.

Winters wrapped Hakala's head and mouth in duct tape, got an ax and threatened to cut her head off, charges state. Hakala suffered four stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, 11 stab wounds to extremities and a 35-centimeter slit across her neck.

Winters' adult sister, Kaylene Hakala, who was sleeping inside the house, woke up at 8:45 a.m. and called 911, police said.

Unified police took down Winters within eight minutes. According to charging documents, Winters approached police with the ax in his hand in an "aggressive gesture" saying, "She deserved it."

It took three shots with a Taser to take Winters into custody.

Steve Bird, a neighbor, witnessed the incident from across the street.

Bird said he saw Hakala walk out of the house with assistance from officers before being put on a stretcher and taken to the hospital.

According to police, Winters has a history of mental illness.

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Miranda Collette

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