Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Midvale man was ordered Monday to stand trial on charges accusing him of stabbing his wife to death in 2020.
John Weston Erickson, 43, also entered not guilty pleas Monday to all charges he faces, including murder, a first-degree felony; child abuse, a second-degree felony; and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony.
Erickson entered the not guilty pleas when he was scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing. Prior to his pleas, a judge ruled the case would be bound over for trial, meaning the charges will continue to proceed in court.
Erickson was charged with murder days after his wife, 41-year-old Utahna Halona Erickson, was stabbed to to death in their Midvale home on Oct. 28, 2020. Police say the couple's two children were in the home when the attack occurred. The Ericksons' then-7-year-old daughter suffered a cut to her hand after trying to take a knife from her father, charging documents say.
The daughter told police that she saw her father "cutting my mom open," according to charging documents. The couple's son, who was 11 at the time, also tried to stop the attack and later ran to a neighbor's house for help, police say.
When officers entered the home, they reported finding Utahna Halona Erickson dead on the floor, and John Erickson with self-inflicted wounds to his arms and neck. He was hospitalized for several days before being booked into jail.
Erickson remains in the custody of the Salt Lake County Jail, where he has been held since Oct. 31, 2020, according to jail records.
No trial dates have yet to be scheduled for Erickson, and his next court appearance will be for an arraignment hearing on Feb. 7, 2022.
