Utah man convicted of murdering his wife, who was an “amazing soul,” the family said

Utahna Halona Erickson was fatally stabbed in front of her two children in 2020.

A Utah man was sentenced Wednesday to prison for the Oct. 28, 2020 murder of his wife, Utahna Halona Erickson, according to a news release from the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

Third Circuit Judge Richard McKelvie sentenced John Weston Erickson Jr. to 15 years to life in prison for the fatal stabbing of Halona Erickson, whom he attacked in front of her two children at their Midvale home, according to indictment documents.

The two children ran to a neighbor’s house, saying their father injured their mother, police said. First responders pronounced Halona Erickson dead at the scene.

John Erickson told authorities he just “got nuts,” the press release said.

In 2020, Halona Erickson’s family described her as “the most beautiful, loving, amazing soul” who “will be greatly missed.”

“She made everything beautiful and always went out of her way to bring family and friends together,” Shirlee Silversmith, Halona Erickson’s mother, said in a statement on the Utah Homicide Survivors’ Facebook page in 2020.

Messages asking the group for comment Thursday morning were not immediately resent.

“During the sentencing hearing, the courtroom was filled with people who loved Utahna and honored her life and devotion to her family,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in a statement. “We mourn the loss of Utahna and her children in this horrific murder.”

Editor’s Note • Individuals who experience intimate partner violence or know someone who has been affected are urged to call the Utah Domestic Violence Link Line at 1-800-897-LINK (5465) or the Utah 24-hour Sexual Violence Hotline call 801-736. 4356 (English) or 801-924-0860 (Spanish).