Police: Woman stabbed after telling teen to stop using slurs

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A 16-year-old Utah boy was charged as an adult with stabbing a woman to death after she told him to stop using racial slurs, according to court documents.

Izaak Joseph Vijil, of Midvale, was charged Thursday in the death of Melissa Wood, 34, in Murray on April 22.

Vijil was "making racial slurs" in a parking lot with a group of other teens when Wood, who was playing with some children nearby, asked him to stop, according to charging documents.

Vijil began to argue with Wood and told her to "get out of his face or he was going to slap her." He then allegedly approached Wood and began stabbing her in the torso and then fled the area. Wood died shortly after arriving at a hospital.

Detectives also said they found a Snapchat post from Vijil saying that he needed a "ride out of state ASAP" to avoid being arrested.

Vijil told police that he stabbed Wood with a knife, which was found in his pocket at the time of his arrest, according to charging documents.

Vijil was charged with murder, two counts of aggravated assault and committing a violent offense in front of a child.

His ethnicity was not disclosed in charging documents and the exact racial slurs he was using have not been released.

It's unclear if Vijil has an attorney who could comment on his behalf.