Midvale man held in wife's killing

MIDVALE — Police say an argument between a couple with a history of domestic violence ended tragically Thursday with one woman dead and her common-law husband arrested for investigation of murder.

Midvale police were called about 8:30 a.m. to the Midvale Villa apartments, near 7900 South and 800 West, by a man who said his common-law wife of about eight years was missing. The woman had gone out the night before and had not returned home, said Midvale Police Sgt. Marcelo Rapela.

Just as officers arrived at the apartment, however, the woman returned and police left. Less than two hours later, police received another call from a man on a cell phone who said "he needed the cops here," Rapela said.

Police were able to trace the call to the apartment complex, located just a block away from Midvale police headquarters. When they arrived, they found the man from the earlier call standing in the parking lot.

"He puts his arms out in front of him, like in a 'cuffed' position, and said, 'I'm tired, I killed her,' " Rapela said.

Inside the apartment, the woman's body was found on a couch in the living room, covered with blankets and pillows so the couple's two daughters, ages 4 and 8, didn't see her.

The man told police the daughters were home at the time of the killing but were asleep and did not hear anything.

Investigators believe the couple got into a heated argument after police left the first time, and the man used a cord — either from a computer or a cell phone charger — to strangle the woman, Rapela said.

In 2008, Midvale police investigated a similar domestic violence incident involving the same couple. In that incident, the man also allegedly tried to use a cord to strangle the woman, he said.

Carlos Augusto Soto Lopez, 28, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail Thursday afternoon after being interviewed by detectives. Based on conversations with him and other family members, investigators believe allegations of an extramarital affair may have been a "huge factor" in the argument and strangulation, Rapela said.

Detectives were attempting to retrace the woman's footsteps from the night before.

"We are trying to determine where she had been and what she was up to last night," Rapela said.

Police were attempting to verify Thursday whether Lopez and his common-law wife, whose name was not released Thursday, were illegal immigrants. Both were originally from Mexico. Lopez speaks limited English, Rapela said.

Other tenants who knew the couple said they had only lived in the apartment for about eight months.

"They were a normal couple," said Daisy Peña, 14. "They never had any bad arguments in front of us."

e-mail: preavy@desnews.com