Murder-Suicide Takes Place in University of Utah Research Parking Lot

The incident took place in a shared parking lot on the university’s campus.

A man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing his wife in a parking lot of the University of Utah Research Park Thursday.

Richard Peralta, 25, allegedly shot and killed his wife, 23-year-old Katherine Peralta, then committed suicide in a domestic violence incident, according to fox13now.com.

Campus police discovered the couple around 4:45 p.m. in the parking lot of ARUP Laboratories on campus. The female was deceased and the male was wounded in “grave condition.” Richard Peralta was declared dead hours later.

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Witnesses told police the couple was fighting before the shooting took place.

“It appears that there was a domestic situation and this is where he came to confront his wife, and it ended up in a tragedy,” university Chief of Police Dale Brophy said.

Katherine Peralta worked at ARUP Laboratories, which was placed on lockdown for approximately an hour after the shooting.

The Salt Lake City forensics team is assisting the University of Utah Police Department in the investigation.

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