Northern Utah man charged with attempted murder in hatchet attack on father

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SALT LAKE CITY — A Cache County man is facing an attempted murder charge after allegedly trying to kill his father with a hatchet.

Ethan Drake Mortensen, 20, of Smithfield, was charged with the first-degree felony Monday in 1st District Court.

Mortensen was arrested Thursday after attacking his father with a knife and hatchet, according to a police affidavit.

The father told police he had caught his son “drinking heavily in the garage” and that “they were going to have to kick him out of the house for drinking at home after they had asked him not to,” the affidavit states.

The conversation got heated, and Mortensen grabbed a hatchet and knife out of his backpack, according to police.

The father was cut on his hand as he tried to prevent his son from stabbing him, police say.

Mortensen’s blood-alcohol content was checked at a local hospital after his arrest and registered at 0.273%, the affidavit says.

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Pat Reavy is a longtime police and courts reporter. He joined the KSL.com team in 2021, after many years of reporting at the Deseret News and KSL NewsRadio before that.

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