Son in custody after 2 found dead inside Spanish Fork home

The son of a couple found dead inside a Spanish Fork home on Tuesday is now in custody as a “person of interest” in their deaths.

The Spanish Fork Police Department said the bodies were found inside a home in the area of 2200 East and 1400 South.

According to the department, police received a call for a welfare check from a co-worker who said one of the victims had not shown up to work for the past two days.

“It affects everyone — it affects the family, the neighbors. It affects the city as a whole,” said Lt. Cory Slaymaker.

Officers unsuccessfully attempted to contact the victim by cellphone before finding an unlocked window and entering the house. Inside, police found a 58-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman both deceased.

The couple’s son, 26-year-old Tryston Robert Erickson, was identified as a person of interest, and police were looking for him Tuesday afternoon. A Hyundai Elantra was missing from the home, it was believed that he took it.

Erickson was located after the female victim’s phone location was pinged near Steamboat Springs, Colorado around 4 p.m. Police then spotted him driving the missing Hyundai about 50 miles away near Kremmling.

Officers attempted to pull him over, but he led them on a pursuit. The pursuit eventually ended, and Erickson was taken into custody. Spanish Fork Police said he is being held in the Grand County (Colorado) Jail on “local charges.” It was not stated whether he would be extradited; he has not been labeled as a suspect at this time.

“We have detectives that are going to be heading to Colorado to interview him and try to gather more information,” said Slaymaker.

The victims’ names have not yet been released.

In 2016, Erickson was arrested for driving under the influence and crashing into a house in Payson. He also has several various past charges — some of which he was convicted for, and others that were dropped.

“All I’ve been able to find out from our detectives early on is that he did have some mental health issues. I’m not exactly sure what all those issues were,” said Slaymaker.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.