SOUTH JORDAN — A 35-year-old woman found dead inside her boyfriend’s house died as result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, South Jordan police announced Tuesday.
Police were originally called to the house, in a gated community near 10200 South and Jordan Creek Road, just after 6 a.m. Monday on the report of a domestic violence incident, according to South Jordan Police Sgt. Sam Winkler.
The boyfriend got into an argument with his girlfriend, who grabbed a gun from a closet and threatened the boyfriend, according to the boyfriend’s attorney, Dan Simons. He said the boyfriend was able to lock himself in a bedroom away from her and call 911.
Emergency dispatchers were told that it was a domestic violence issue and the woman was armed with a gun, according to South Jordan police. Officers arrived and used a ladder to help the boyfriend get out of the house through a second-story balcony, Winkler said.
But at that point, the boyfriend did not tell the officers that a gun was pointed at him, Winkler said. Simons claims his client told officers his girlfriend was suicidal but concurs he did not tell them about a gun being pointed at him.
Winkler said if officers had known that, they would have handled the situation differently. But ultimately, he said officers determined that “no crime had occurred” even though they had responded on a call of a woman with a gun. Because of that determination, police did not attempt to force entry into the home when the girlfriend did not answer the door or her phone.
About 9:40 a.m., the boyfriend called another friend to check on the girlfriend. That’s when her body was found inside the house. An autopsy on Tuesday determined her death to be the result of suicide.
Simons said his client is “distraught and destroyed that his girlfriend took her own life” and believes the initial officers who responded to the call should have done more to try and make contact with the girlfriend.
“During our ‘stay safe, stay home’ campaign in Utah, we have seen an increase in domestic violence calls and calls where a person is in mental health crisis. Please reach out to available resources if you find yourself or someone you love in crisis,” South Jordan police said in a prepared statement.
Domestic violence resources:
Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990, www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline/contact-us.
Utah Domestic Violence LINKLine: 1-800-897-LINK (5465), www.udvc.org.
Rape & Sexual Assault Crisis Line: 1-888-421-1100.
Utah Child Abuse/Neglect Intake Line: 1-855-323-3237, dcfs.utah.gov/services/child-protective-services.
Utah Adult Protective Services: 1-800-371-7897, daas.utah.gov/adult-protective-services.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255, suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
SafeUT: 1-833-372-3388 (833-3SAFEUT), healthcare.utah.edu/uni/safe-ut.
Utah Parent Center: 1-800-468-1160, utahparentcenter.org.
The Family Support Center: 801-955-9110, www.familysupportcenter.org.
Prevent Child Abuse Utah: 801-532-3404, pcautah.org.
National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-373-7888, humantraffickinghotline.org.
211 Utah: 2-1-1, 211utah.org.