Friday, April 2, 2010

Salt Lake City, UT: Murder-suicide reported in Salt Lake City

By Melinda Rogers And Nate Carlisle
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 04/02/2010 06:09:33 PM MDT

Police are investigating two likely murders and a suicide in the Federal Heights neighborhood of Salt Lake City.
Ronald Halliday, 73, his wife Linda Covey Halliday, 69, and their son, Stuart Halliday, 35, were found dead in the home, all from gunshot wounds.
An out-of-state relative called police about noon today, asking for a welfare check after the relative had not heard from the family in about a week.
Salt Lake City Police arrived shortly after, and knocked on the locked front door. When no one answered, they knocked on the back door. Again, no one answered, but the door was unlocked and they entered, said Salt Lake City police Detective Dennis McGowan.
Police found blood spatter on the first floor and found the three bodies in the home, on the 1400 East block of Penrose Drive (152 North). The officers also recovered a gun believed to be used in the shooting, McGowan said.
Police are still sorting out what happened, but said there are no suspects.
"There's no risk to the public," he said. "Anyone who is involved is in fact there."
Bruce Halliday, Ronald Halliday's brother, of Salt Lake City, said he does not know what occurred in his brother's home. He did not suspect problems with his brother's family.
"Just out of the clear blue for all that we can tell," he said.
Ron Halliday was a retired IBM computer programer. Linda Halliday was a stockbroker early in her life, but has mostly been a
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homemaker, Bruce Halliday said. The couple met while attending the University of Utah, he said.
The couple's son, Stuart Halliday, had been living back and forth in California and Salt Lake City, Halliday said.
The couple's only other child, Charles Patrick Halliday, committed suicide in 2004, said the family's dentist and neighbor John Stohl. Stuart Halliday had some previous problems, Stohl said, but did not want to elaborate.
"I'm still distressed and shocked," Stohl said.
He said Ron Halliday was "very personable and very polite," and took care of his 99-year-old mother. When Stohl moved in, Ron greeted him with a $100 gift card as a welcome, and he was often spotted in the neighborhood walking his dogs. Ron worked out of his home doing investments, Stohl said.
Shock rippled through the neighborhood, just a couple of blocks from the home of Elizabeth Smart, who in 2002, at age 14, was abducted from her house.
Ron Henriksen came home about 2 p.m. today to find the neighborhood cordoned off with police tape.
"It's tragic something like this could happen," Henriksen said. "It's such a nice neighborhood."
Lindsay Whitehurst and Sheena McFarland contributed to this report.

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