ST. GEORGE — Elementary school teacher Jana Anderson's life was shattered Tuesday when her husband of 20 years was stabbed to death during an apparent robbery while working in his barbershop.
"I thought we'd be married for 50 years," Anderson, 44, said with a catch in her voice Wednesday evening. "It's so cruel. I'm just bitter and angry."
Claudio Mauricio Martinez, 21, St. George, was arrested less than seven hours after the slaying of John P. Anderson, 49, who was found bleeding but alive on the floor of his business, Anderson's Chop Shop. He died two hours later at Dixie Regional Medical Center.
Martinez remains in Purgatory Correctional Facility on $500,000 bail and is likely to make his first court appearance Friday. Formal charges against Martinez were to be filed Thursday in 5th District Court, said Washington County Attorney Eric Ludlow.
John Anderson's day Tuesday began as it usually does as he readied for work. He joked with his wife that her unwashed breakfast dishes were cluttering up the sink. He drove his youngest son, 9-year-old Micah, to school and told him he loved him and to have a fun day.
His two-chair barbershop was clean and ready for the customers who enjoyed John's sense of humor and gentle nature. Those same customers have been calling Jana Anderson, sharing their grief and wondering aloud what they will do without him.
"John always put other people before himself," she said. "He was extremely unselfish. He read three newspapers a day and knew everything about sports. Children just flocked to him because he'd listen to them."
The couple loved to attend plays and musicals. One of John's favorite musicals was "Les Miserables."
"He just barely told me he was going to buy tickets for us to see it again in November," she said. "He magnified every calling he ever had in the church. He was just made a stake missionary, too."
The Andersons, who have five sons, Matt, Brett, Trevor, Rory and Micah, are well-known in the community.
Eighteen-year-old Brett is the student body president at Hurricane High School. Practically the entire school district has rallied to provide assistance, including financial, said Tony Pellegrini, principal at Three Falls Elementary School where Jana Anderson teaches fifth grade.
"Everyone is absolutely flabbergasted by John's death, and we want to do anything we can to help," Pellegrini said. He and the school's counselor told Jana Anderson's class about the death and went to each classroom that day to let children know they could talk about their concerns.
The Andersons' oldest son, Matt, is serving a mission in Brazil for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As of Wednesday morning Jana Anderson had yet to talk to her son and was worried about him and whether the message had been successfully delivered by the area mission president.
Family, friends and even strangers have brought some comfort to the family, she said. Food, calls, visits, hugs and expressions of sympathy have helped, she said.
"You would not believe the outpouring of love we've had. Everybody loved and respected John," she said.
At the same time, the public nature about her husband's death adds to the family's pain.
"That's the sad thing about murder; it's all over the newspapers, on the radio, on the TV," said Jana Anderson. Her husband's body was sent to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy.
The funeral is Saturday in La Verkin. A memorial fund in John Anderson's name has been established at Southern Utah Federal Credit Union, 85 N. 200 West, Hurricane.
E-MAIL: nperkins@redrock.net