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Utah woman charged with murder for beating husband to death with nail gun because 'he was drinking too much'

The medical examiner of the autopsy told police the 33-year-old had serious medical issues stemming from alcohol use, but his actual death resulted from blunt force trauma and a ruptured spleen
UPDATED MAR 22, 2020
(Salt Lake County Police)
(Salt Lake County Police)

A 30-year-old woman from Utah was arrested on Monday, March 16, on suspicion of killing her husband after the medical examiner told authorities that the man had died from blunt force trauma, reports stated. The woman, identified as 30-year-old Veronica Vizcarra, of Kearns, was arrested after her husband, 33-year-old, Carlos Vizcarra-Corona succumbed to his injuries. Police believe that Carlos was beaten to death with a nail gun by Veronica.

Fire department and police officials had responded to a call about an unconscious male at the pair's home on March 11. When the authorities arrived, they found Carlos dead in the home. According to court documents, Veronica, while talking to the investigators, said Carlos had a serious alcohol problem and consumed a lot of Tylenol, ABC 4 reported.

After probing, authorities found out that Carlos had been hospitalized for alcohol abuse nearly four months before his death. The medical examiner, who conducted an autopsy on Carlos' body, told police on March 12 that the 33-year-old did have serious medical issues stemming from alcohol use, however, his actual death resulted from blunt force trauma and a ruptured spleen, ruling Carols' death as a homicide. The examiner said that Carlos' injuries were in a stage of healing, however, they were unable to heal because of the extensive damage.

Court documents state that when Veronica was questioned by the police about the healing bruises on Carlos' chest, back, and face on the day of his death, she said that he received the bruises after getting into a fight at work nearly two weeks ago. Her account, however, was countered by Carlos' sister who told police that her brother had not gotten into a fight at work. Two of Carlos' colleagues also backed the sister's account.

Detectives spoke to multiple witnesses who claimed that Carlos, in the weeks leading up to his death, had told them that Veronica had beaten him with a staple or nail gun on February 27. The witnesses' accounts were consistent with the injuries found on Carlos' body when he died. Authorities then searched the couple's house and seized specific items linked to the alleged assault.

Veronica, who has a previous legal history, was subsequently arrested and booked into jail on March 16, where she is currently being held without bail on suspicion of first-degree murder.  

The 30-year-old, in January, was charged with criminal mischief, child abuse and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of children. Carlos, during that incident, had told authorities that Veronica had been "drinking alcohol and threw glass cups at him and his 11-year-old daughter," according to the police affidavit made in January. Court documents showed that the accused had also pleaded guilty to an assault charge in October 2019, for beating up a woman. Prosecutors, at the time, said that after entering her plea, Veronica intimidated the victim outside the Salt Lake City, Utah, courtroom, which led to her being charged with the third-degree felony of retaliation against a witness in November 2019. 

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