SALT LAKE CITY — A Murray man was sentenced to prison on Tuesday after he seriously injured his mother with a hammer during an unprovoked domestic violence incident.
Dray D. Howick, 42, pleaded guilty on Jan. 27 to aggravated assault, a second-degree felony. Third District Judge Chelsea Koch ordered him to spend one to 15 years in prison. He accepted a plea deal that reduced his charge from attempted murder, a first-degree felony. Howick's plea statement said he was affected by a mental condition at the time of the offense.
Charging documents said police responded to the home on May 23, 2024, and found that a 67-year-old woman had been hit twice in the head with a hammer. She told officers her vision went out after being hit the first time. After the second hit, her son turned around and left, telling her he was "trying to kill her," charges claim. They said she reported the assault was unprovoked and there was no earlier altercation.
Charging documents said Howick admitted to hitting his mother.
"He said he intended to 'put her down' and 'decapitate her with an ax,'" they say.
Several doors in the house had been damaged by an ax, police said.
At the time, he was supervised by Adult Probation and Parole, and prior courts had found him competent to know right from wrong.
Initially, Howick was scheduled to be sentenced in March, but attorneys asked to delay the hearing, and Koch said she wanted to research various treatment centers before issuing a sentence.
