John Brickman Wall, aka Johnny Wall, a well-respected Utah doctor, has been found guilty of murder. The Daily Mail is reporting that 51-year-old John Brickman Wall was found guilty in the drowning death of his ex-wife, 49-year-old Uta Von Schwendler.
The case first made headlines in September 2011, when police were dispatched to a home in the 1400 block of Harrison Avenue, where they found the body of a white female lying unresponsive. The woman was identified as Uta Von Schwendler, a scientist and cancer researcher in the Salt Lake City area. Schwendler’s boyfriend, Nils Abramson, was the first person to find the body in a bathtub filled with running water.
“[I] went in, heard the water running and discovered her in the tub,” Abramson said. “I grabbed her [thinking] maybe she just fell down, I don’t know. But she was stiff, so I know she had been dead for a while.”
The death was considered suspicious since the local coroner was unable to say for sure if the death was a homicide or a suicide. Shallow cut marks on her body suggested that it was possibly a suicide, although the medical examiner believed that the cuts were actually a sign that the victim had tried to fight off the attacker. The finding of Xanax in the woman’s system was also highly suspicious. Still there were no arrests in the case.
John Brickman, Wall’s oldest son, was convinced from day one that his mother’s tragic death was not a suicide, and that his father had killed her. Other family members also believed that Wall had savagely killed his ex-wife. In fact, Johnny Wall’s son was so afraid to stay in the house with him after his mother’s death that he slept with a knife and an Airsoft pellet gun. That same son eventually petitioned the court to have his siblings removed from his dad’s custody. In 2013, Pelle Wall filed a wrongful death suit against his father.
A look into the former couple’s background revealed that the marriage was filled with problems, resulting in Uta Von Schwendler leaving the home after she fell in love with someone else. They finally divorced in 2006. After the divorce, Johnny and Uta went through a fierce custody battle. Friends say that Johnny felt that his ex-wife had ruined his life.
Prosecutors allege that this was the main reason that John Brickman Wall killed his ex-wife. They also assert that Wall entered Uta Schwendler’s home as she slept and then forced Xanax in her mouth as she struggled. A detailed report indicates that the victim had severe scarring to her face and cheek, indicative of someone trying to shove something down her throat, according to KSL .
The bedroom area also showed signs that a very violent fight took place involving at least two people.
With the guilty verdict, friends and family members are grateful that Uta Von Schwendler will finally get justice and mark the closing of a very sad case. The case was featured on a past episode of 48 Hours .
A study in 1994 revealed that out of 10,000 murder cases, 6.5 percent were killed by a spouse. The study also found that men kill their wives more often than the reverse.
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