Man to stand trial in attack on ex-girlfriend and her son

The case of a man charged with ramming his ex-girlfriend with a car, stabbing her son repeatedly with a knife and cutting the family dog last year will proceed to trial, a judge ruled Thursday.

Third District Judge Judith Atherton bound over Henry Louis Jackson, 52, for trial on two first-degree felony charges of attempted criminal homicide, and cruelty to animals and simple assault, both class B misdemeanors.

Three witnesses on Tuesday testified regarding the Nov. 9, 2006, incident, and each had somewhat differing accounts of the details but all stated Jackson hit Kathryn Capellen with his car and knocked her to the ground and seemed to be revving up the engine to try to hit her again.

Witnesses also testified Jackson chased Capellen's son, Cameron Hardman, 18, across the apartment parking lot and stabbed Hardman in the chest, back and arm with a knife; cut the throat of Hardman's pit bull, Tyson (the dog survived); and then returned to the injured Capellen, hitting her, dragging her toward his car and threatening her.

The judge rejected arguments from a defense attorney that Jackson was trying to defend himself after Hardman, who is 6 feet tall and weighs 320 pounds, punched Jackson while Jackson was still in his car.

The prosecutor argued that it was understandable that a young man would not stand there while his mother is being run over and said someone cannot be the aggressor and then claim self-defense when the victim fights back.

Atherton did not rule on Jackson's preliminary hearing on Tuesday until legal clarifications had been obtained regarding a previous conviction. His defense attorney argued that Jackson had been sentenced for manslaughter in 1983, rather than murder, but the attorney's research showed that the court docket was in error and the crime was murder.

That could add "aggravating factors" in this case and potentially influence the sentence Jackson receives, assuming that he is convicted of these crimes.

His next court date is Jan. 29. Jackson is being held in the Salt Lake County Jail on $200,000 cash-only bail.

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E-mail: lindat@desnews.com