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SALT LAKE CITY — A Holladay man has been jailed for attempted murder after police said he restrained and severely beat his 63-year-old sister for two hours.
Samuel Shroy Martindale, 55, was arrested shortly before midnight Feb. 15 in connection with the incident, and he remained in the Salt Lake County jail as of Monday, according to jail records. He has not been charged in court, which was closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the brutal beating, at times with the lid of a toilet tank, lasted for two hours inside the home where the victim lived. The victim, whose hands and legs were bound at times, was eventually able to summon help when she received a phone call from a friend and Martindale allowed her to take it. Charging documents stated that Martindale had been arrested on suspicion of murder, but a Unified Police Department representative said late Sunday that the woman was alive and that he had been detained on suspicion of attempted murder.
"Samuel stated he wants the friend to come over so Samuel could kill the friend, too. Samuel answered the phone for the victim, to which the victim screamed, 'Call the police,'" reads the affidavit. Third District Court Judge Keith Kelly on Friday ordered Martindale be held without bail.
The responding officers came from the Unified Police Department, but the affidavit didn't specify where in Salt Lake County the incident occurred. Jail records said Martindale is from Holladay.
Martindale had been on probation in at least one other case at the time of last week's incident. Last September, he received suspended prison terms on convictions in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake County for receiving stolen property, a third-degree felony, and criminal mischief, a second-degree felony, according to online court records. He was also placed on probation for four years in that matter.
Correction: Because of incorrect information in a probable cause affidavit, an earlier version stated that Martindale had been arrested on suspicion of murder. In fact, he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
