Sledgehammer-wielding man calls 911 to say he’s trying to kill wife, Utah cops say

A 76-year-old man attacked his wife with a sledgehammer, then called 911, Utah police said.

On May 19, Dennis Alma Day called 911 and said “I am trying to kill my wife, and it’s personal,” according to a police booking affidavit obtained by KSL.

During the call, his wife also called West Jordan officers and said he had her in the head with a sledgehammer, police told FOX 13.

The woman told police she escaped, but her husband had a gun, officers told KUTV.

When she escaped, she was able to grab the sledgehammer from him and throw it down the stairs of the house, officers told FOX 10.

She told police she heard gunfire coming from the garage as she escaped, officers told KSL.

Police found his wife by a neighbor’s gate “bleeding from her head and face” before she was taken to a hospital, officers told KUTV.

They found Day in the garage and “ordered him to drop the gun,” but he pointed it at an officer, police told Gephardt Daily.

He eventually threw the gun over the truck he was hiding behind, police told Gephardt Daily.

Day was arrested and charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and felony discharge of a firearm, officers told KUTV.

West Jordan is about a 20-mile drive southwest from Salt Lake City.

This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Sledgehammer-wielding man calls 911 to say he’s trying to kill wife, Utah cops say."