W.V. police arrest woman's neighbor in her slaying

WEST VALLEY CITY — An 18-year-old next-door neighbor of a slain mother of two was arrested late Tuesday for investigation of homicide.

West Valley police late Tuesday announced the arrest of Marty Vuksinick in connection with the death of 33-year-old Kim Hain. Police Capt. Tom McLachlan declined to talk about a possible motive Tuesday night, saying that the investigation was ongoing.

"I can't get into it. We have to speak more with him," McLachlan said.Kim Hain was found dead in a bedroom of her home near 6600 W. Fanfare Court (3500 South) on Friday. Police say she was found by her two children, a 6-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy.

"They didn't tell anyone, didn't notify anyone. They waited for their dad to come home," McLachlan said.

Pat Hain, Kim's husband, returned home about 8 a.m. after working a graveyard shift at a local hospital. Kim Hain also worked at a local hospital, the emergency room at Primary Children's Medical Center.

Vuksinick was a person police were interested in talking to, McLachlan said. Once they picked him up about 5 p.m. Tuesday for questioning, "he implicated himself," McLachlan said, by giving inconsistent statements. Vuksinick also knew "sufficient specifics" about the crime that only a person present would know, he said.

McLachlan said Vuksinick later led investigators to a field near 6000 South and 2700 West where police found a baseball bat, believed to be the murder weapon.

"It's what he said he used," McLachlan said. "As information came out, he gave out more information."

Between 8:30 and 9 p.m., Vuksinick was officially placed under arrest. McLachlan said Pat Hain was notified of the arrest Tuesday evening and expressed he was relieved significant progress had been made in the case.

On Monday, Kim Hain's neighbors held a barbecue in her honor. The Deseret News talked to several neighbors who attended the event, including Vuksinick.

"It still doesn't seem real," he told the News Monday. "Nothing (like this) has ever happened in this neighborhood."

Vuksinick also told reporters one of the nearby neighbors had been out working in his yard Monday when he discovered a set of keys, which sent police scurrying back to the home for more investigation. Vuksinick said his mother, Cheryl, was Kim Hain's best friend and the first person to talk with husband Pat Hain after he came out of the house with the kids.