Inset: Aaron Thomas (Facebook). Background: The Tooele County Detention Center in Utah where Aaron Thomas is being held for allegedly attempting to murder his wife (Google Maps).
A man from Utah stands accused of attempting to break his wife’s neck, allegedly exclaiming, “Why won’t you die?” while he clutched her throat and head. This incident comes just months after he reportedly attacked her with scissors, according to police reports.
Identified as 27-year-old Aaron Ray Thomas, he faces charges including attempted murder, aggravated kidnapping, and reckless endangerment related to the alleged domestic violence incident at their Tooele County residence on May 7.
During the attack, Thomas is alleged to have told his wife, “I hope you die,” while choking her, as detailed in an arrest affidavit sourced by local station KTVX.
Authorities reported being called to the couple’s home on the day of the incident. Thomas’ wife recounted that he “tried killing me” by placing one hand on her neck and another on the back of her head, violently twisting, according to the affidavit.
Emergency responders noted that the victim’s screams and cries were audible during her 911 call. She claimed Thomas attempted to strangle her before she managed to escape the house and get into her car. However, he reportedly thwarted her escape by leaping behind the vehicle, as per the affidavit.
Officers observed red marks on the victim’s neck when they arrived and she told them she feared for her life. Court records viewed by Law&Crime show that Thomas has an extensive criminal history that includes an alleged scissors attack on the wife that was reported in March.
During that incident, police say Thomas got into an argument with his wife and stabbed her in the middle of her hand with the scissors after she called him a derogatory term, according to KTVX. He also allegedly stabbed himself twice in the arm before fleeing and later claiming his wife did it.
Local CBS affiliate KUTV reports that Thomas has gotten into at least 10 prior domestic violence incidents that were reported to police. He “just got out of jail” when the strangulation and choking attack happened, cops say.
“Aaron has called in 11 different times for a welfare check to be conducted on the victim,” officers state in the strangulation affidavit. “With these welfare checks, Aaron is always seeking to locate the victim after some sort of unreported domestic incident. Several times the victim has been contacted by officers and she tells them that she does not want him to know where she is due to his violent tendencies.”
Thomas was booked into the Tooele County Detention Center and is being held without bail.