MOHAVE VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — Mohave County authorities say a 33-year-old man has been arrested in the unprovoked hatchet killing of an acquaintance while both were visiting a Mohave Valley residence.
The Sheriff's Office said deputies responding to a report of an assault Thursday encountered Nicholas Umphress and then found 33-year-old Victor Hernandez dead "with obvious trauma to the head.''
The Sheriff's Office said the floor was flooded with water "as if someone had tried to clean the area.''
The office said witnesses said Umphress "had been acting strange and pacing in the living room before the unprovoked attack.
''Umphress was jailed on suspicion of premeditated first-degree murder.
Online court records don't list an attorney for Umphress who could comment on the allegations.
