SPANISH FORK — Police are investigating whether a Spanish Fork man accused of murdering his wife was doing research on criminal defense strategies before her death, according to a newly unsealed search warrant affidavit.
Curtis Nichols, 35, was charged last week in 4th District Court with murder, a first-degree felony, and three counts of domestic abuse in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony.
Nichols' wife, Robin Nichols, 35, was found unconscious and not breathing on the floor of her kitchen about 11 p.m. on Aug. 24, according to Spanish Fork police. Nichols told police he found her there and called 911.
An autopsy conducted the next day concluded that Robin Nichols was likely strangled.
As Spanish Fork police continue to retrace Nichols' steps prior to his wife's death, a search warrant filed in 4th District Court reveals that a librarian called detectives on Aug. 28 to say that she recognized Nichols from news reports of his arrest.
"She advised that Curtis was using the public computer for quite some time. She handed me copies of several papers concerning case law and extreme emotional distress defenses. She said that when she saw what Curtis was printing that she was concerned," the officer wrote in the affidavit.
The librarian said Nichols was also copying several newspaper articles but was "being very secretive of what he was printing," the warrant states.
She said both Curtis and Robin Nichols were in the library the day Robin Nichols was found dead, and checked out many books.
"Based upon the information provided by the librarian, I believe there is information that Curtis may be researching a defense strategy or other ways to hinder, delay, or prevent the prosecution for crimes he has been charged with," the officer wrote in the warrant.
Nichols is scheduled to be back in court Sept. 25.
The couple had lived in Spanish Fork for about two years and have three children, ages 2, 5 and 7. Spanish Fork police had not been called the house prior to Aug. 24, and Curtis Nichols does not have any significant criminal history in Utah, according to court records.