USA: 50yo Husband Murdered His 47yo Wife In St. George, Utah. Husband Has History Of Domestic Violence. In July, Officer Warned Judge He Was A Danger To Her. Judge Released Him Without Bail.

🚨NO WHITE SUPREMACISTS INVOLVED🚨

ABC4 Utah published September 3, 2024: ‘Wanted to escape’: St. George woman was afraid for her life before her death, police say.

KUTV 2 News Salt Lake City published September 3, 2024: Autopsy pending in suspicious death of woman whose husband was previously accused of DV. Police in St. George said they are awaiting the results of an autopsy in the death of a woman who died in what police called suspicious circumstances. In a public statement, police said that they responded to a report of a heart attack on Sept. 1 at the home shared by Niki and Eric Sampson. According to that statement, “circumstances around her death were suspicious.”

KSL News published September 2, 2024: St. George man arrested on suspicion of killing his wife, police say. A man was arrested after his wife was found dead in her home, St. George police said.

KSLtv5 NBC news, Salt Lake City, Utah local

St. George man arrested on suspicion of killing his wife, police say

written by Mary Culbertson

Tuesday September 3, 2024

ST. GEORGE — A man was arrested and charged with murder Sunday after his wife was suspiciously found dead in their home, according to police.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. Sunday, the St. George Police Department said, officers were dispatched to 2800 S. 2300 East. The emergency call had reported someone suffering cardiac arrest, police said.

Officers arrived to find 47-year-old Niki A. Sampson dead inside the home.

“Circumstances around her death were suspicious and upon further investigation, her husband, Eric L. Sampson, 50, was identified as a suspect and arrested,” police said.

Eric Sampson was booked and charged with domestic violence aggravated assault and murder.

According to past court documents, Eric Sampson had been charged on July 25 with assault and intoxication after Niki Sampson called police and told them he “was coming after her in the backyard.” When police arrived, Eric Sampson had both arms wrapped around his wife and was observed to be heavily intoxicated. He was detained “without incident,” and arrested, court documents said.

Eric Sampson was released the same day on the conditions that he appear in court, promise not to commit any criminal offenses, check in once a month by phone, sign up for pretrial monitoring, and sign a jail release agreement. He pleaded not guilty to both charges the following day, and the next arraignment was scheduled for Oct. 30.

An investigation into his wife’s death was still underway as of Monday afternoon. Police asked anyone with information to call 435-627-4338.

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KUTV2 CBS News, Salt Lake City, Utah local

Autopsy pending in suspicious death of woman whose husband was previously accused of DV

written by Liv Kelleher

Tuesday September 3, 2024

ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — Police in St. George said they are awaiting the results of an autopsy in the death of a woman who died in what police called suspicious circumstances.

In a public statement, police said that they responded to a report of a heart attack on Sept. 1 at the home shared by Niki and Eric Sampson.

According to that statement, “circumstances around her death were suspicious.”

The pending autopsy results for Niki should confirm the cause of death.

Eric Sampson was arrested and charged with domestic violence, aggravated assault and murder. He is currently being held at Purgatory Correctional Facility.

Just 38 days prior to Niki’s death, Eric was arrested at their home after Niki called the police, saying she had been attacked by her husband.

According to court records, Niki alleged that Eric threw her, pinned her down, and pulled her hair. He was charged with two misdemeanors, including assault and intoxication.

Eric was released from police custody shortly after he was booked.

This was on July 25. Niki was found dead on Sept. 1.

Kimmi Wolf of the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition said, “It takes a victim, on average, seven (abuse) incidents to leave a relationship permanently.”

She said that victims often stay in relationships longer than they’d like “because of the potential for death, and that sadly is all too real of an occurrence right here in Utah. . . . It Is always such a struggle with the legal system, but law enforcement is one of the best tools to get a victim out of a potentially deadly situation.”

According to a report, the arresting officer in the July domestic violence incident requested Eric be held without bail, stating he believed he “would constitute a substantial danger to any other person or to the community.”

However, Judge Douglas Whitlock chose to release Eric on his own recognizance.

UNBELIEVEABLE! Horrible injustice for this lady. The judge in question should be held liable for her death. Maybe then judges would take these matters seriously. Just like the justice system is now holding parents responsible for the crimes committed by their minor children. This man was being held in custody and this judge set him free to kill his wife after the judge was warned by the arresting police officer he was a danger to her. (emphasis mine)

Eric was not required to pay bail, so long as he agreed to specific release conditions, including promising to “appeal for all required court proceedings . . . not commit any criminal offense . . . (and) sign up for Pretrial Monitoring no later than 24 hours after release.”

St. George Police Department officials said that they expect to have updates on the case by Thursday.

The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition reminded people that victims of domestic abuse are very easily swayed away from reporting their abusers or seeking help.

Wolf asked viewers of this story to be mindful when commenting on any situation that involves domestic abuse.