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Utah
Friends, Family Tell of Couple Involved in Deadly Stabbing
April 7th, 2007 @ 9:39pm
Whit Johnson Reporting
A mother of three is behind bars for stabbing her boyfriend to death in
Weber Canyon. We first told you about the incident Friday night. Tonight
friends and family of the couple are trying to piece together what happened.
Detectives with the Weber County Sheriff’s office have not officially
released the motive for the killing. But friends and family members of Nate
Harris and Monika Dilmaghanian say the couple truly loved each other, and
alcohol may have led to the tragedy.
For those close to 34-year-old Monika Dilmaghanian and 24-year-old Nate
Harris, it’s a time for healing.
The couple’s close friend, Peggy Tidwell, told us, "She was a
high-maintenance friend, but when she was sober she was the best friend in
the entire world."
Friday afternoon at the Weber Memorial Campground, Monika confessed to
officers that she had stabbed and killed her boyfriend, Nate.
"He says Monika killed Nate," Tidwell recounted. "And the worst thing about
the whole thing was that I wasn’t surprised."
Peggy Tidwell knew the couple through a religious group, and Nate had lived
in her home for a period of time. Monika was one of her best friends. She
describes Nate as one of the sweetest people she has ever known. Nate’s
stepfather, George Reid, certainly agrees.
"He never got angry," Reid said. "He was just a huge teddy bear. [He] just
had a huge heart."
Both George and Peggy believe Monika’s drinking and dangerous temper got the
better of her. They want people to remember this tragedy took the lives of
two people in different ways.
Peggy Tidwell "They were good for each other," Tidwell said. "In the
beginning they were very good for each other. Monika had a lot of problems,
and it all involved around drinking."
George Reid said, "No, we don’t hold anything against Monika. We understand
from what we knew of her she was really a pretty good person. She just had a
side of her that we didn’t understand."
What makes this crime even worse is that Monika’s three young children were
present when the stabbing happened. Right now they are in the custody of
their father. Monika was booked into jail for homicide.
Nate’s funeral services will be held on Thursday.