Tooele man arrested in girlfriend's death

A Tooele man has been arrested as a homicide suspect in connection with the March death of his girlfriend.

Walter Smith, 24, was booked into the Tooele County Jail last week for investigation in the drowning death of 23-year-old Nicole Speirs, a mother of twin boys. Details of the arrest were released just this week.

Police were called to the couple's Tooele home on March 25. Smith said he had just returned from Burley, Idaho, where he found Speirs face down in the bathtub with the water still running, according to a Tooele police report. The death, however, was ruled an unexplained drowning by the state medical examiner.

"The medical examiner was unable to locate any signs that indicated a struggle or forcible drowning," according to an arrest warrant.

The case was placed inactive but never closed. No charges were ever filed because of lack of evidence.

On Dec. 4, police received a call from the Veterans Hospital Police Department. Smith had checked into the hospital and asked a relative to relay a message to police that he wanted to talk to them about Speirs' death, according to the warrant.

"I am responsible for Nicole Speirs' death," he told police. When asked whether it was an accident or if something else happened, he said, "Something else happened," according to the report.

Smith said he checked into the VA Hospital so he would be taken seriously and not because he was suicidal or a danger to himself, according to a police report.

Relatives of Speirs, according to the report, had always been suspicious of Nicole's death.

Speirs and Smith had a relationship prior to March but broke it off. They got back together later after Speirs found out she was pregnant with twins and Smith was the father, according to a police report.

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com