OREM, Utah, Aug. 24, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — An Orem man is being held without bail in the Utah County Jail after police say he entered a residence were he was renting a basement room, stabbed a fellow tenant, and returned upstairs, where he stabbed the married couple that owns the house.
The husband ultimately subdued the tenant Wilton Vladimir Molina — after suffering several knife wounds — by beating the suspect with a chair, Molina’s probable cause statement says.
Molina, 24, faces preliminary charges of:
- Three counts of aggravated murder, a first degree felony, which will be revised to attempted murder if no one dies
- Interference with an arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor
The probable cause statement, filed by an officer of the Orem Police Department, says police were summoned to an Orem address, near 1400 South and 700 East, on a call of a stabbing.
“Officers arrived on scene and found there were three victims and the suspect had been subdued by one of the male victims in the front yard,” the officer’s statement says. “The other male victim escaped the home and had collapsed a few houses to the south. The other victim was a female and was the wife of the male victim that had subdued the suspect.”
Officers took Molina into custody, and he tried to kick police both at the scene and while being transported, the statement says.
Molina’s landlady was interviewed at the hospital.
“She stated that Wilton Molina rented a room from her and her husband in the basement. The female stated that she was in the kitchen cooking when Wilton entered the door.
“The two looked at each other and she stated the Wilton just stared at her, then proceeded to go downstairs. The female stated she continued cooking and then heard another male they rent a room to downstairs screaming saying ‘he’s stabbing me.’
“The female made her way to the stair way and saw Wilton Molina charging up the stairs with his hands raised and a knife in one of his hands. The female stated at this point, her 12-year-old son ran out of the house and tried to get help from a neighbor.”
The woman said Molina came at her with a knife in his raised hand.
“She retreated to the dining room to try and avoid him as he continued to try and attack her with the knife,” the affidavit says. “The female stated that her husband, who was laying down at the time, heard her screaming and entered the room and started fighting with Molina. Both the female and her husband fought with Molina to try and disarm him.”
The husband suffered a significant stab to the left shoulder, and additional stabs to the right bicep. Both his hands were “severely lacerated.” The husband also was bitten on the left calf, the statement says.
“The wife sustained a laceration to the left wrist and left shin and was also bitten by Molina on the right elbow,” the account says.
“The husband was able to hit Molina with a wooden chair several times in the neck and head area and was able to subdue him” and continued to subdue Molina until officer arrived, the statement says.
The husband told the same story as his wife when interviewed at the hospital.
“He stated he awoke to his wife screaming then entered the room and found Wilton Molina attempted to attack his wife with a knife. He stated he got between Molina and his wife and fought with Molina to get the knife away from him. He stated it was during this with Molina to get the knife away from him. He stated it was during this altercation that Molina stabbed him while he and his wife actively tried to stop Molina.”
The other downstairs tenant, who was stabbed first, exited the home and walked south, calling 911 before he collapsed two houses away, the statement says.
The other tenant suffered a stab wound to the abdomen, five stab/lacerations to the left arm, and a stab/laceration to the back of the neck. Both male victims were transported by ambulance to a local hospital, the police statement says.
“The husband was in stable condition and was going to need surgery to repair his wounds. The other male needed surgery right away and was in critical condition. Because of this, the other male has not been interviewed,” the statement says.
The wife received minor lacerations and did not need further medical attention at the hospital, the statement says.
Molina was transported to a different hospital to be checked out, the booked into jail. He declined to be interviewed by officers.
Gephardt Daily will have more information on this developing story as details are released.
