Abusive relationship preceded woman's shooting death, charges say

Sandy police officers investigate the scene of a shooting on Montana Drive in Sandy on Friday, Dec. 10. Linda Jonides was shot and killed and her husband, Matthew Jonides, was charged Friday with murder.

Sandy police officers investigate the scene of a shooting on Montana Drive in Sandy on Friday, Dec. 10. Linda Jonides was shot and killed and her husband, Matthew Jonides, was charged Friday with murder. (Laura Seitz, Deseret News)


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SANDY — Prosecutors say an abusive relationship between a Sandy man and his wife culminated on Dec. 10 when the husband grabbed a shotgun and fired at his wife, who was lying on the floor, during a heated argument.

William Matthew Jonides, 57, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony.

On the night of Dec. 10, Jonides called 911 to report "he had just shot his wife and she might be dead," according to charging documents.

Officers arrived at 477 E. Montana Drive (11335 South) and found Jonides on the front porch.

"He told officers that he and his wife had a 'heated argument and then I just grabbed it, it was a matter of a second and then it went off,'" the charges state.

Inside the house on a bedroom floor, detectives found the body of 57-year-old Linda K. Jonides.

William Jonides further told police that he and his wife were arguing "and he grabbed her shoulders and she started screaming. It made him angry when she started screaming so he picked the gun up off the bed and shot her," according to the charges.

Jonides told police that he forced his wife to sleep on the floor and shot her with a shotgun, the charges state. An autopsy determined that Linda Jonides was shot at close range and was attempting to turn away to protect herself at the time the shot was fired.

Prosecutors say Jonides' death was the "culmination of an abusive relationship."

According to investigators, William Jonides had isolated his wife from her friends and family.

"During his interview with police, Jonides made reference to prior domestic violence incidents," the charges state.

Police say in June, William Jonides became upset with his wife "because he felt she had stayed too long at her dentist visit. Jonides then got his revolver and waived it around the room," according to charging documents.

In 2019, William Jonides "temporarily gave police his firearm for safekeeping," the charges state.

Domestic violence resources

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

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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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