This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Posted: 1:09 PM- TOOELE - An ex-Marine appeared in court Tuesday on charges he drowned the mother of their children in the bathtub of herTooele home.
Walter Smith, 24, is charged with one count of first-degree felony murder in the death of Nicole Speirs, 22, who is believed to have died on March 24.
Third District Judge Mark Kouris orderd Smith held without bail in the Tooele County jail pending a hearing on Jan. 2.
According to police, Smith, who fathered twins with Speirs, told officers that on March 24, he and the children traveled to a family gathering in Burley, Idaho, and returned home to find Speirs underwater in the bathtub, according to a Tooele police report. When police arrived, they determined she had been dead for "a period of time," according to a police report.
Speirs had bruising on her extremities, but the medical examiner could not conclude her death was a homicide. Police deemed the case suspicious but later put it on hold for lack of leads.
Then, on Dec. 4, Smith confessed the homicide to police and others at the Veterans Administration hospital in Salt Lake City, according to police and an affidavit filed in support of the charges.
Smith told his uncle, "I did it," and then told Tooele police, "I am responsible for Nicole [Speirs'] death," according to the affidavit.
Tooele police Capt. Steve Newkirk said Smith served in Iraq but did not know where or for how long. Smith's defense attorney, Matthew Jube, said Smith was a Marine.
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