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Sandra Yi ReportingEarlier this week two boys watched as their mother was gunned down by her boyfriend. In another domestic last night, several children also witnessed a violent act. Fortunately, no one was killed, but their mother is now in the Davis County Jail for assault.
Vernice Sam called police last night to report a fight. When officers arrived, they found Sam sitting down. She told them she was upset with her boyfriend because he was trying to leave the house, so she grabbed a butcher knife and stabbed him in the arm.
Meantime, the victim went and hid in a treehouse in the backyard. Police say he didn't want his girlfriend to go to jail so he tried to hide. He also denied he had been stabbed, and said he caused the injuries to himself.
The victim had a two-inch laceration on his arm and cuts and scratches on his face and ear. Police say the couple's children were home at the time.
Sgt. Bruce Argbogast, Sunset Police Dept.: "One of the things that was really kind of upsetting to me was, when we got there, the oldest daughter, who is probably no more than five or six, she was extremely upset. And when I talked to her by herself, she said she watched them fighting and she saw her mom chasing down dad with a knife and actually saw mom stab him, and she was extremely upset."
On Monday two boys watched as their mother was shot and killed by her live-in boyfriend. One of those boys called 9-1-1.
Studies show, children who witness domestic violence will need help for a long time, but often don't get that help. That's why the YWCA is trying to raise awareness of domestic violence.
Police in Sunset say the two involved in the stabbing last night aren't strangers to them. Police have gone to the home three times in the past three months on domestic violence calls.
