ST. GEORGE — A St. George man was found guilty of murder, a first-degree felony, on Friday after a jury determined evidence supports he killed his wife.
The verdict for Eric Larsen Sampson, 52, came at about 7:45 p.m. after a weeklong trial and eight hours of jury deliberation.
His wife, Niki Ahlquist Sampson, was found lifeless on a bed in their home on Sept. 1, 2024. Police were called to the area around 2800 South and 2300 East and the 911 caller reported domestic violence and that the woman had bruises "all over," according to charging documents.
Immediately after that verdict, 5th District Judge Eric Gentry ordered that Sampson be taken into custody ahead of his sentencing on March 23. He was released from jail and put on home confinement in July 2025 after prosecutors said they had mistakenly not turned over a significant amount of evidence shortly before a scheduled trial. His attorneys argued that he had no control over the delay in the trial and it infringed his right to due process.
Months before Niki Sampson's death, she called police and told them her husband "was coming after her," later reporting he had pinned her down on their bed and was pulling her hair and then followed her and threw her to the ground in the backyard after she broke free, court documents state.
Eric Sampson was charged in relation to those allegations with assault, a class B misdemeanor, and intoxication, a class C misdemeanor. He is scheduled for a jury trial on those charges in March.
