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 Utah man is accused of trying to snap his wife's neck — telling her, "Why won't you die?" while gripping her throat and head with both of his hands — just months after he stabbed the woman with a pair of scissors, cops say.
Aaron Ray Thomas, 27, is charged with attempted murder, aggravated kidnapping and reckless endangerment in connection with the alleged domestic violence attack at the couple's home in Tooele County on May 7.
"I hope you die," Thomas told his wife while choking her, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by local ABC affiliate KTVX. "Why won't you die?" he allegedly said.
Police say they were called to the home that day and spoke to Thomas' wife about what happened. The woman said Thomas "tried killing me" by placing one hand on her neck and under her chin, and the other on the back of her head while "violently twisting," according to the affidavit.
Police say the victim could be heard "screaming and yelling" after she called 911 to report what happened. She alleged that Thomas tried to strangle her before she fled the residence and attempted to drive off in her car. Thomas stopped her after he "jumped" behind the vehicle, 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.
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