Suspected murder-suicide probed

Three children are without their parents today after a deadly domestic dispute in Herriman Thursday.

A neighbor walked into a house near 13600 S. 6100 West just after 7:30 p.m. and found a woman and her husband, the children's stepfather, dead inside.

The woman had apparently died from stab wounds and the man from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Paul Jaroscak.

"There was a gun near the bodies and a couple of knives that appear to have been used, but at this time we do not know," he said. Police were waiting late Thursday for a search warrant to be issued in order to re-enter the home and continue the investigation.

Inside the home, officers found a 5-year-old girl authorities assume was being cared for by the woman at the time of the incident.

Three other children, ages 12 to 15, who live in the home are "severely traumatized," Jaroscak said, noting the children were being treated by deputies trained to handle situations involving domestic matters.

Rory Phillips, a neighbor and church acquaintance of the woman, said she had been worried about the couple for quite a while. One of the woman's sons works for Phillips' husband during the summer and when he is on break from school.

"We knew of some situations arising," she said. "You just never think this will happen."

The woman, known to Phillips as "Jaquie," worked two jobs to support her family. She worked in a day-care center in the mornings and cleaned a retirement home at night. Phillips said she gave everything she could to her boys.

"She was really proud of being where she was," Phillips said. "She came to Utah from Colombia for a better life."

Phillips said the man was "the only father (the children) really knew."

The woman reportedly has two sisters and several cousins in the Salt Lake area who will take the children in. Several families in the neighborhood have offered them care and support.

This is the second domestic dispute to turn deadly in Salt Lake County this week. Monday, Garth McClure, 46, of Holladay, shot his estranged wife, Carrie McClure, 42, three times through the window of her car after ramming her vehicle off the road. He then took his own life as their 8-year-old daughter watched from the back seat.

Jaroscak said when relationships are involved, it is not only difficult for the parties directly involved but also for the responding officers.

"We all have families of our own, and we transfer this to them, and what we deal with is terrifying and sometimes sickens us," Jaroscak said.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com