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A Salt Lake City man is accused of stabbing his wife to death, then threatening to harm his sister and his sister's roommate.
Daniel Leonard Olivera, 33, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with first-degree felony murder in the slaying of his wife, 32-year-old Lisa Olivera, last week.
Charging documents offer few details about why Olivera attacked his wife after the couple went out Thursday evening with friends.
A baby sitter watching the couple's 10-year-old son and 6-month-old baby told police the Oliveras began arguing when they returned from their night out, charges state.
The baby sitter, who went outside to smoke, returned to the apartment to find Lisa Olivera bleeding from the neck, slumped on a kitchen table around 4:45 a.m. near 2300 South and Green Street (640 East), according to the charges.
Daniel Olivera was staying with his wife, although the couple were estranged, Salt Lake City police said this week.
Besides arguing with his wife, Daniel Olivera threatened his sister and his sister's roommate the morning of the stabbing, court papers state.
Daniel Olivera called his sister's roommate, Bo Dawes, and asked him to come to his house on Green Street early Friday morning. Dawes complied, the charges state, and the two argued outside the house.
Daniel Olivera went into the house and came back with a large knife, the charges state. Dawes ran away with Daniel Olivera chasing him.
Later in the morning, Daniel Olivera's sister, Marseala Sireech, said her brother arrived at her home with black pants and a gray shirt covered in blood. Sireech told police her brother began threatening her and Dawes, charges state.
Daniel Olivera reportedly told his sister and Dawes that he stabbed his wife, according to charges.
The court papers do not indicate why Daniel Olivera was arguing with his wife or fighting with his sister and Dawes.
Alicia Cook, a spokeswoman for the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, said prosecutors don't yet know why those involved were arguing.
Salt Lake City police spokeswoman Robin Snyder previously said Daniel Olivera changed his clothes at his sister's home to escape police. About five hours after the stabbing, someone near 1300 South and 1200 West reported that Olivera was in the area. Officers found him on a bicycle behind an LDS Church meetinghouse. He was arrested without incident.
In addition to the murder charge, Olivera is accused of third-degree felony aggravated assault and two counts of third-degree felony commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Olivera is being held in the Salt Lake County jail in lieu of $1 million bail.
Daniel Olivera, charged with murder for allegedly stabbing his wife to death Friday in Salt Lake City, was on probation for beating her and threatening to kill the same woman last year in New Mexico.
Daniel Olivera, 33, was convicted last year in New Mexico of misdemeanor battery against a household member and interfering with police for an attack on his wife, 32-year-old Lisa Olivera, according to an arrest warrant obtained by The Albuquerque Journal.
In March 2008, Olivera became angry with his wife because their phone did not work. They argued until he fell asleep. She left the apartment to ask a manager to fix it. When she returned, Olivera started to yell and demand to know where she had been.
The warrant states Olivera grabbed her by the hair, dragged her up a staircase and into the bedroom, stopping twice on the way up to kick her in the face. At the top, he punched her several times in the face.
According the arrest warrant: "Daniel then threw Lisa back to bed, telling her, 'If you ever leave, I'll kill you.' "
After his conviction, Daniel Olivera absconded from probation almost immediately. He served a brief jail sentence for an outstanding warrant in Duchesne County, Utah, and was released Aug. 18.
