John Jefferson
The home in Utah where Niki A. Sampson was killed on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024 (KSL/YouTube).
A Utah man is accused of killing his wife while he was out of custody awaiting trial in a domestic violence case against her in July.
Eric Larson Sampson, 50, faces charges of domestic violence, aggravated assault and murder in the death of his wife, Niki A. Sampson, 47, police said in a news release.
Niki A. Sampson was killed on Sunday. Police were called about 8:35 p.m. to a home on a report of a woman possibly having a cardiac arrest in St. George, police said. St. George is in the southwestern part of the state near Nevada.
Police found the victim dead in the home. Police deemed the circumstances around her death suspicious, and Sampson was quickly arrested. Further details were not released.
Citing an arrest report, local Fox affiliate KSTU reported police noted “suspicious bruising” on her body and face “in different stages of healing, although many of the bruises appeared to be fresh.”
Citing the affidavit, local NBC affiliate KSL reported that police found the victim’s journal.
In it were notes about “how Eric became angry and aggressive when under the influence of alcohol,” the outlet reported the affidavit saying. “Other notes stated Eric was an alcoholic, and (she) wrote that she wanted to escape from Eric. One of the entries specifically mentioned that (Niki) was afraid for her life.”
Eric Sampson was out of custody on his own recognizance after pleading not guilty to charges in which he allegedly attacked her in the backyard in July, KSL reported.
The court documents said he grabbed her and threw her on their bed, placed his knees on her arms to pin them down and pulled her hair, the report said.
She called the police and ran to the backyard. There, he grabbed her with both hands and threw her on the ground, according to the documents.
He allegedly told police he was grabbing her “to calm her down” and that she had hit and kicked him, the documents said.
“While speaking to Eric, I smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from his person,” the report said. “I also saw he had bloodshot watery eyes and continued to make repetitive statements.”
Eric Sampson was being held at the Washington County Jail, online booking records show.
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