Autopsy pending in suspicious death of woman whose husband was previously charged with domestic violence

St. George, Utah (KuTV) — Police in St. George said they were awaiting autopsy results in the case of a woman who died under what police called suspicious circumstances.

In a public statement, police said they responded to a report of a heart attack on September 1 at the home shared by Niki and Eric Sampson.

According to this statement, “the circumstances of her death were suspicious.”

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Niki's pending autopsy results should confirm the cause of death.

Eric Sampson was arrested and charged with domestic violence, aggravated assault, and murder. He is currently being held at Purgatory Correctional Facility.

Just 38 days before Niki's death, Eric was arrested at her home after Niki called the police and said she had been attacked by her husband.

According to court documents, Niki claimed Eric threw her, held her down and pulled her hair. He was charged with two misdemeanors, including assault and being intoxicated.

Eric was released from police custody shortly after his arrest.

That was on July 25th. Niki was found dead on September 1st.

Kimmi Wolf of the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition said, “On average, a victim must experience seven (abuse) incidents to permanently leave a relationship.”

She said victims often stay in relationships longer than they would like, “due to the threat of death, and that is unfortunately an all too real situation here in Utah. … It's always a battle with the legal system, but law enforcement is one of the best tools to get a victim out of a potentially deadly situation.”

According to a report, the arresting officer in the July domestic violence case requested that Eric be held without bail because he believed he “would pose a significant danger to other persons or the community.”

However, Judge Douglas Whitlock decided to release Eric on bail.

Eric did not have to post bail as long as he agreed to certain conditions of his release, including promising to “follow all necessary legal proceedings…not commit any crime…(and) register for pretrial monitoring no later than 24 hours after his release.”

St. George police officials said they expect to have an update on the case by Thursday.

The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition reminded people that victims of domestic violence can easily be dissuaded from reporting their abusers or seeking help.

Wolf asked viewers of this story to be cautious when commenting on situations involving domestic violence.

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