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SALT LAKE CITY — One man is in custody and being held without bail after police say he was caught on surveillance footage repeatedly stabbing a woman on a Salt Lake City TRAX platform Friday afternoon.
Michael Nimmo, 50, was arrested Friday on suspicion of attempted murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping.
Dispatchers received a call regarding a man with a knife at Ballpark Station Friday about 4:33 p.m., according to a probable cause statement. While UTA police were responding to this call, a train operator called in a medical situation at the 900 South station about 4:41 p.m.
An officer arrived on scene and discovered a woman with "several knife wounds to her body." He applied two chest seals to the woman, and she was transported by ambulance to the University of Utah Hospital.
Reviewing security footage, UTA dispatch released a photo of a suspect wearing a black hoodie, black pants and black Nike shoes. A man matching that description was spotted by Salt Lake City police near 945 S. Jefferson St. about 5:19 p.m.
The man refused to speak to officers at the scene, the affidavit says.
Nimmo was transported to the UTA police building, where he still refused to speak and identified himself only as "A B East." A detective reviewed UTA security footage and determined that "the male that was in custody was the same male at the 900 South platform who stabbed the victim, wearing blue scrubs and no shoes, multiple times."
The affidavit says security footage shows the stabber exiting a train at the 900 South station about 4:36 p.m. The woman walks onto the train platform from the north, at which point Nimmo can be seen pulling a knife from his sweatpants pocket. "He is seen opening the folding knife," the affidavit says, "and then concealing it by folding his arms."
The woman is seen using a ticket machine, and the stabber approaches her from behind. When she bends over to retrieve a ticket, the affidavit says, Nimmo then "puts his left arm around her head."
Two people, a woman and man, are seen walking past the attacker and woman as he pins her against the machine. The attacker waits for them to pass, and the victim is seen dropping the grocery bags she had with her. "And this is when the suspect is seen repeatedly stabbing the victim, while still holding his left arm around her neck area," the affidavit says.
The woman then falls to the ground and is again stabbed repeatedly by the man as she puts up her left hand in self-defense.
About 4:39 p.m., Nimmo is allegedly seen dragging the woman out of camera view. That's when the man and woman who passed by earlier reappear, and the man "is seen running towards the suspect," who "quickly walked off property."
The stabbed woman is seen standing up with "blood all around her"; as a train pulls into the station, she falls to the ground.
She is listed as being in "extremely critical condition" in the probable cause statement. The statement requests Nimmo be held without bail because he "would be a substantial danger" if released.
"The suspect attacked an unknown female without cause or provocation," it says, adding that Nimmo is not from Utah and could be considered a flight risk if released.
