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NORTH OGDEN — A man was arrested in Weber County in a domestic violence-related incident after both he and his wife told each other their families were going to die from COVID-19, according to police.
The man, 38, was arrested Monday night for investigation of aggravated assault causing substantial injury.
North Ogden police were originally called to Pleasant View Emergency Center where a woman was being treated for a laceration on her forehead.
“The woman stated that she was hit in the head by a ceramic candle warmer causing the laceration. She relayed that she and her husband ... were verbally arguing when (the husband) stated that the victim’s family was all going to die from the COVID-19 virus. The victim stated that (the husband) reacted by physically throwing items around the home when she replied that his family was going to do the same,” according to a police affidavit.
Police also noted that the husband “had a habit of acting out when he was off of his medication by physically throwing items around the house” and that officers were already aware of “this habitual behavior.”
When interviewed by police, the husband stated he threw the ceramic candle warmer because he was frustrated, but would never intentionally hurt his wife, the affidavit states.
Police and social workers have said they are worried about an increase in domestic violence cases in light of the “stay at home” edicts being issued by the state and several counties in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Last week, Salt Lake police announced a “dramatic uptick” in domestic violence-related calls over the past two weeks.
“The numbers are showing that over the last two weeks, there has been an increase of 33% in these types of calls,” the department stated.
On Tuesday, the Salt Lake Police Department announced domestic violence calls over the past week had deceased just slightly. From March 16-22, police responded to 96 calls of domestic violence in Salt Lake City, according to department statistics. From March 23-29, there were 92 calls, said Salt Lake police detective Greg Wilking.
That’s compared to 73 calls between March 2-8, right before the restrictions because of coronavirus began.
Although the numbers were relatively steady for the past week, Wilking said the department will take any small gains it can get in reducing the number of domestic-violence related incidents.
The Unified Police Department said Tuesday that domestic violence related calls over the past month were actually down compared to the same time last year. From March 1 through March 30, Unified officers responded to 420 domestic violence calls. During that same time in 2019, officers responded to 431 calls.
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting:
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition: Utah's confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
- YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
- Utah's statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
