WEST VALLEY CITY — A Kearns man was charged Tuesday with stabbing his estranged wife multiple times.
Oswald Herrera-Amaya, 33, is charged in 3rd District Court with attempted murder and aggravated burglary, first-degree felonies.
Police say Herrera-Amaya and his wife, of just over a year, had recently separated, and he moved out of their shared apartment in West Valley City. But on March 6, as the woman was packing her personal belongings, Herrera-Amaya allegedly showed up unannounced.
"The victim and the defendant argued over their relationship and debts. The victim asked the defendant to leave, but he refused," according to charging documents.
The argument escalated to Herrera-Amaya grabbing his estranged wife by the throat with both hands and choking her, the charges state.
"The defendant then produced a knife from his pocket and began to stab the victim. The victim, after being stabbed, fell to the ground where the defendant continued to stab her," the charges allege.
Herrera-Amaya then went into the kitchen to get a bigger knife and stabbed the woman again multiple times, police say.
"When asked why he was doing this, the defendant told the victim that if he can't have her, no one can, and they were going to die together," the charges say. "The victim sustained cuts to her hands and ears, stab wounds to the back of her neck, hip area, chest and neck, and a collapsed lung." Her updated condition was not immediately known Tuesday.
The women "pretended to be dead" to stop the attack, according to prosecutors.
Police say Herrera-Amaya then called his mother to confess what he had done and started to stab himself. He left the apartment, and police later located him at a Kearns residence, where he was arrested.
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
