Judge denies bail request for man accused of beating girlfriend to death

SALT LAKE CITY — A man accused of beating his girlfriend to death was denied a request that his $1 million bail be reduced.

It was on Daniel Jay Folsom's 50th birthday that he asked 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton to reduce the bail on the charge of murder, a first-degree felony, that Folsom is facing in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Alecia Sherman, 45.

The judge denied the request.

Outside the hearing Friday, Sherman's friend of 16 years, Annette Winward, said she thought the judge's decision was "great."

"I don't think (Folsom) should every see daylight again," Winward said. "If it was me, I think he should get the death penalty for what he did to (Sherman)." 

Winward said she and her daughter visited Sherman in the hospital before her death and detailed the injuries the woman had suffered: bruises from head to toe, broken hands and nose. They said Sherman underwent two separate brain surgeries before she died on Dec. 19.

Sherman was taken to the hospital on Dec. 15 after police were called to the home of Sherman's neighbor in Murray. Before losing consciousness, Sherman told the neighbor that Folsom was "out of control," according to charging documents. The neighbor noted that Sherman "appeared severely beaten."

When police arrived, they found a "large amount of blood" on Folsom's clothing.

Sherman was rushed into emergency surgery to remove blood clots and pressure on her brain, the charges state. She died days later.

"I just don't understand how anybody could do that to another human being, and proclaim that you love her," Winward said. "When (Sherman) left (Folsom) clear back in 2009, he called her everyday begging her to come back. 'I promise I'll go to counseling, I'll get off the drugs. I will quit drinking.' So she came back and this was the result."

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 5.

— Emiley Morgan, Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam