- Jeffery Allan Larson, convicted of killing girlfriend Nisha Fnu in 2016, goes before parole board.
- Larson expressed remorse and discussed past trauma during his parole hearing.
- Fnu's family opposes parole, citing safety concerns; the board's decision is expected in weeks.
SALT LAKE CITY — Jeffery Allan Larson didn't have a criminal record prior to killing his girlfriend in 2016, and he hasn't had any behavioral issues since being sentenced to the Utah State Prison.
But on Oct. 15, 2016, unresolved past trauma may have triggered Larson to act out violently against 24-year-old Nisha Fnu.
"I wasn't thinking of the consequences of me reacting like that to cause harm to some other person. I was just caring about me," Larson told the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole on Tuesday. "I wish I would have thought more into it instead of reacting."
Fnu's family, however, believes Larson should remain in prison and not have the opportunity to harm other women if he is released.
"We don't want this person to go out in this world so he can hurt other victims. … Please don't let him go," Fnu's brother pleaded with the parole board,
Larson, now 38, of Magna, was charged with murder but pleaded guilty in 2018 to reduced charges of manslaughter and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to two to 20 years in prison on the manslaughter conviction and one to 15 years for obstruction. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively, through Larson was given credit for the time he had already been incarcerated.
On Tuesday, Larson went before the parole board for the first time. He spoke softly, almost timidly, and gave short answers to board member Dan Bokovoy. The two first talked about a psychological evaluation performed on Larson after he was convicted.
Larson grew up in an abusive home in Minnesota. His father would choke him and his siblings until they passed out, Bokovoy noted from the report. By age 12, Larson moved to Magna to live with an aunt and uncle. But the lasting trauma from being abused made Larson highly reactive to being grabbed by the throat.
"It just brings you back to seeing my father's face, just abusing me like that. It's like a major flashback," he said Tuesday.
By 2016, Larson says he was in the process of getting a divorce and had become friends and romantic with Fnu. On the night he killed her, the two met in the parking lot of a Smith's grocery store, 5620 W. 4100 South, which they had done before because neither had told their family about the relationship.
Larson says he and Fnu "never really argued," and initially the meeting was good-natured. But when Larson told her he wanted to go to a Halloween party that night with co-workers, he says Fnu became angry. Larson said Tuesday that as the argument escalated, Fnu grabbed him by his neck.
He described what happened next in short sentences such as, "I reacted," "I hurt her pretty badly," and "It just ended badly."
Larson grabbed Fnu by the neck in return, and her "eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she began to shake as if having a seizure," according to charging documents. Larson told police he tried to revive the woman, who at that point was unconscious, but he knew she "was in bad shape."
He drove his car to West View Park, 4100 S. 6000 West, then walked back to Smith's to drive Fnu's car to the park, at which time he moved her from the back seat of one vehicle to the other and then left, the charges state. When police say Larson drove by the park at 6:25 a.m. the next day and discovered she was still there, he made an anonymous 911 call.
Fnu spent several days on life support in a local hospital but never regained consciousness or showed signs of improvement, the charges state. She died on Nov. 4, 2016.
"I wish I could go back and change things. I've learned a lot of coping skills I wish I knew back then, probably would have helped me out," Larson said Tuesday.
Since then, Larson says keeping a journal while incarcerated has given him a way to express his feelings rather than keep them bottled inside. He says he has also learned not be selfish and how to be more giving, generous and compassionate to others.
"If I want to change, I have to be honest with myself, too. That's helped me stop those negative things I was doing to myself," he said.
But when it was the family's turn to speak, they asked the board to keep Larson in prison longer, saying there's no guarantee he won't snap again.
"He can brutally kill somebody because he doesn't like to be touched," Fnu's brother said. "That kind of pain is something that nobody should go through. Our family has been completely broken, and life will never be the same."
Adding to their pain, Tuesday was also the ninth anniversary of the passing of Fnu's mother from cancer. The family believes her death was quickened by the stress of her daughter's death and say that her final words to the family were not to let Larson get away.
"Justice for my daughter is making sure (Larson) is fully accountable," Ram Murti, Fnu's father, wrote in a note to the board that he had a daughter read on Tuesday because he was too overcome with emotion.
When asked how he could assure the board that he wouldn't "snap" again if he is released, Larson said, "Actions speak louder than words. I can't tell the future, but I would do everything I can to avoid that again.
"I'm always thinking about consequences now. Every action, good or bad, has consequences," he said.
The full five-member board will now vote whether to grant parole or set another hearing for sometime in the future. A decision is expected in a few weeks.
