West Valley City » Maralee Andreason had talked about the struggle to keep her son out of trouble.
But it was the 55-year-old Andreason who was found dead Tuesday night in her West Valley City apartment. Police said it appears her boyfriend beat her to death.
The boyfriend, 44-year-old Thomas J. Valdez, told police the pair had some kind of argument but he did not elaborate, said West Valley City police Lt. Bill Merritt. Andreason's apartment is in a large complex near 3800 West and Rockwood Way (about 3400 South).
Valdez' uncle called police about 8 p.m. Tuesday and reported Valdez had mentioned to another family member that Andreason was dead inside her apartment. Police arrived, used a key from a maintenance man, and found Andreason's body inside, Merritt said.
Merritt said it appeared Andreason received blunt-force trauma. An autopsy was performed Wednesday morning, but results are pending.
"We're still trying to find out exactly what was the cause of death," Merritt said.
A medical examiner estimated Andreason died late Tuesday morning, Merritt said.
Gang detectives were dispatched to find Valdez. Merritt said they found Valdez at his mother's home; he did not put up a fight.
Merritt said Valdez indicated he was in the apartment alone with Andreason and there was some kind of argument, but, "He did not flat out confess to anything."
Valdez' criminal history includes drug and assault convictions. He first entered a Utah prison in 1995. His latest discharge was July 2008.
Valdez was convicted in 2004 of assaulting his girlfriend and sentenced to prison. In that case, Valdez kicked in the door of a South Salt Lake apartment, beat the girlfriend with his fists and threatened to kill her with a shard of glass, according to police and court records. The girlfriend said the beating left her with multiple facial fractures and a broken nose -- injuries so severe that doctors advised her to see a plastic surgeon.
Andreason had misdemeanor convictions for shoplifting in 1999 and 2001. In 1993, The Salt Lake Tribune featured Andreason and her family in an article about crime prevention programs in West Valley City.
Andreason credited those programs with reducing crime in the apartment complex where they then lived. Andreason specifically said the increased police presence was helping keep her then-19-year-old son out of trouble.
That 36-year-old son is now serving a sentence at the Utah State Prison for drug and theft convictions.
