UTAH COUNTY, Utah, July 24, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Provo man is facing charges of attempted murder and attempted child abuse homicide after allegedly choking and beating his wife and two sons in a “hidden room” inside the family’s home .
Investigators say Jaime Marcos Salinas, 32, also kept cameras in the home so he could monitor his family by way of a live video stream, which he watched on his phone.
According to a probable cause statement filed in Utah County Salinas is facing six felony counts:
- Attempted murder, a second-degree felony
- Aggravated assault, a second-degree felony
- Attempted child abuse homicide, a second-degree felony
- Two counts of child abuse — inflict serious physical injury intentionally, a second-degree felony
- Forgery — purports to be or act on behalf of another, a second-degree felony
- Identity fraud, a third-degree felony
The arresting officer wrote in the statement that he met with a “victim of domestic violence” Sunday. The woman claimed her husband hit and choked her and their two children, a 3-year-old boy and 5-month-old boy, several times. The victim advised of an incident that took place sometime during the last weeks of June.
“The victim advised that Jaime was looking for a remote control and started yelling at their 3-year-old boy,” the statement said. “Jaime started hitting the 3-year-old with a belt on the leg. Jaime eventually got angry and took his wife and boys into a ‘hidden room,’ as the victim described.”
The wife told police Salinas choked her in that room, wrapping both of his hands around her neck, the statement said. She also said Salinas choked their 3-year-old son because he was crying, and that the child lost consciousness as a result.
“The victim also described that Jaime had shoved his finger down their 5-month-old son’s mouth to get him to stop crying,” the statement said.
“The victim also described an incident where he had shoved a sock down their 5-month-old son’s mouth to get him to stop crying.
“The victim stated that this type of abuse has happened on multiple occasions.”
One of those occasions happened during the first week of July. The wife said she had been getting ready for work, the statement said. Salinas wanted to go to a bar and told the victim to drive him to a bar.
“When they were a few blocks away from the bar in Provo, Jaime realized he left his phone at home,” the statement said. “Jaime started hitting his wife’s arm, then her throat, and then grabbed her hair and violently shook her. The victim had a large bruise on her arm where she stated Jaime had hit her multiple times.”
The victim advised that Salinas had several cameras at their home and there was a live feed to his phone so he could watch her when he wasn’t home. The victim was able to show officials these cameras from her phone. She stated the Department of Child and Family Services investigated a child abuse incident at the beginning of July, and that when Salinas found out they were investigating, he deleted the recorded history on those cameras.
“The victim advised that during the past several months Jaime has become more aggressive towards her and the children,” the statement said. “The victim stated that Jaime has choked her on several occasions, causing her to go unconscious. Jaime had also told her not to report to police and the victim has feared to make a report as she believed Jaime would hurt her if she did.”
The victim told officials that Salinas was returning from Texas the evening she was interviewed, after doing a surveillance on his brother and mother because they reported to the DCFS about the alleged abuse.
Officers then found a warrant for Salinas’ arrest out of Texas for $750,000, also for assault.
A traffic stop was conducted on Salinas in Spanish Fork Canyon, where he was taken into custody. He gave a fake name to police officers and said he did not want to give his name until he was taken to the police station. He was advised of his Miranda rights, and said he wanted an attorney present.
A search warrant has been obtained to search the Provo residence for camera footage of the home as well as the safe in the home.
Salinas is being held without bail in the Utah County Jail.
