- Aaron Ray Thomas, 37, faces charges including attempted murder and aggravated kidnapping.
- Police report Thomas has a history of domestic violence and stalking tendencies.
- He allegedly attempted to kill his wife on May 7 in Grantsville.
GRANTSVILLE — A 37-year-old Grantsville man with a history of domestic violence is accused of trying to kill his wife.
Aaron Ray Thomas was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with attempted murder, a second-degree felony; aggravated kidnapping while committing unlawful detention, a third-degree felony; and reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor.
On May 7, a woman called 911, "screaming and yelling, saying she needed help and told dispatch her husband, Aaron Thomas, choked her and tried snapping her neck," according to a police booking affidavit.
When officers arrived at the residence, the woman "was hysterical and said 'he tried killing me,'" the affidavit states. She then described how Thomas allegedly twisted and "snapped her head around" while making statements such as "I hope you die" and "Why won't you die?"
After breaking free, the woman got into her car and tried to drive away, but Thomas "jumped" behind her car, preventing her from leaving, according to the affidavit.
Police further noted that Thomas has an "extensive criminal history," including 10 reported prior incidents of domestic violence with the woman, and that she "is in fear of her life with the increasing aggression coming from Aaron," the affidavit states.
"Aaron just got out of jail after violating a protective order and is currently on probation. Aaron has called in 11 different times for a welfare check to be conducted on the victim. With these welfare checks, Aaron is always seeking to locate the victim after some sort of unreported domestic incident. Several times, the victim has been contacted by officers, and she tells them that she does not want him to know where she is due to his violent tendencies. Aaron has presented stalking-like tendencies with the victim. Several times when officers have responded to these welfare checks and multiple missing persons cases reported by Aaron, it was believed that we may find the victim dead," police stated in their booking report.
In March, Thomas was charged with aggravated kidnapping and several counts of assault for elbowing the woman in the face and knocking a tooth out, and then stabbing her in the hand with scissors, according to charging documents.
He was charged again in April with violating a protective order and assault and accused of assaulting the woman again after convincing her to pick him up from jail, charging documents 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 Utah Survivor Services: 801-537-8600
- Utah's statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
