Murray man charged with attempted murder for stabbing woman 22 times

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4) — A man living in Murray was arrested and charged with attempted murder after stabbing a former intimate partner multiple times in West Valley City.

Ender Vicente Pacheco Hernandez, 32, has been charged with first-degree attempted murder. He is also facing three counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, and one count each of aggravated assault, failure to respond to an officer’s signal to stop, violation of a protective order, and property damage or destruction.

According to documents, on June 13, 2025, an officer with the West Valley City Police Department (WVCPD) was dispatched to a home near Orion Circle in West Valley City. When he arrived, he found a female victim with “several lacerations around her neck and shoulder area.” The officer contacted medical responders, who took her to the hospital.

A female witness told police that she had allegedly seen Hernandez attack the female victim. The female witness recounted seeing Hernandez slash the woman’s tires while she was in the driver’s seat. He reportedly broke a window of the vehicle and climbed into the backseat to attack the victim.

The victim was able to exit the vehicle and began running toward the apartment complex. Hernandez chased her and began stabbing the female victim in the “neck, shoulders, and back,” according to documents.

A male witness stated that he had tried to intervene when he saw Hernandez chasing the female victim with the knife. He allegedly told police that he tried to get between them, but Hernandez swung the knife at him and “tackled [the female victim] and continued to stab her while stating ‘die, die, die.'”

The male witness said that Hernandez left the area with the knife in his hand, and that he believed three children who were watching from the female victim’s vehicle had witnessed the assault and stabbing.

A WVCPD officer located Hernandez while he was leaving in a black vehicle and attempted to stop him. He drove away from the officer and began a vehicle pursuit that led to Hernandez allegedly driving in the wrong lanes of traffic on Redwood Road. The pursuit was stopped after the erratic driving caused public safety concerns.

After an emergency ping on Hernandez’s cell phone, officers were able to locate him and take him into custody. He was allegedly found with blood-drenched pants, dried blood on his left elbow, and a wound on his left hand that was still bleeding.

While medical responders assessed Hernandez’s injuries, documents say that he made unprompted comments such as, “This started because she was unfaithful,” and “I did do it and I’m guilty.” He was taken to the hospital for medical treatment.

During an interview with police, Hernandez allegedly told police that when he arrived at the apartment complex, he found the female victim on a video call with her “male partner.” He told the female victim to open the vehicle’s door. When she didn’t, he allegedly then tried to open the door before grabbing something off the ground and using it to break the window.

Hernandez reportedly told police he jumped inside the vehicle, and the female victim grabbed his hand that was holding the knife and squeezed to stop him. She managed to escape the vehicle, but he gave chase despite knowing she had a protective order against him.

Surveillance footage revealed that the female victim had run to the male witness for protection before Hernandez pushed her to the ground and stabbed her multiple times. He can be seen attempting to pick up the female victim from the ground.

One of the children allegedly came into view and attempted to stop Hernandez from picking her up, but could not. A second child then ran toward him and “threw a small fist at Hernandez to get him to stop.” Eventually, the male witness was able to stop Hernandez.

In an interview with the female victim at the hospital, police discovered she had suffered 22 stab wounds. She told police that she went to the WVCPD station to conduct a child exchange with Hernandez. After collecting the children, she went to the store and then to the apartment complex where the incident happened.

The female victim told police that she saw Hernandez enter the parking lot in a black car before running up to her vehicle. She locked the doors and called 911, but Hernandez allegedly broke the window and began stabbing her in the back, leading her to attempt to escape while screaming for help.

Hernandez is currently being held at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail without bail. His initial court appearance is set for June 27.