This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
West Valley City police say a man was fatally stabbed by his live-in girlfriend during a Labor Day barbecue at an apartment complex.
The victim was identified Tuesday as 44-year-old Thai Van Le.
The man's girlfriend and mother of his child, 41-year-old Thu Huong Thi Nguyen, was arrested Tuesday and booked into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of first-degree felony aggravated murder, second-degree felony obstruction of justice and third-degree felony domestic violence in the presence of a child.
The couple were at a home near 1800 West and Parkway Boulevard (2495 South), when an argument ensued between the couple and escalated, according to police.
At about 10:30 p.m., the woman retrieved a kitchen knife and stabbed the man in the back, police said. The couple's child was present during the altercation, police added.
Officers responding to a 911 call learned the victim had been loaded into a van by friends and taken to Pioneer Valley Hospital, where he died.
WVCPD Sgt. Jason Hauer said Tuesday that "several people were at the apartment for a Labor Day barbecue and had been drinking through the day and into the night."
Detectives had obtained search warrants for the apartment and the van, and gathered evidence through the night and into Tuesday morning.
A jail probable cause statement noted that investigators recovered the knife, which "appeared [to have] been washed in an effort to cover up evidence."
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