Man who set home on fire in alleged bid to kill wife sent to prison

A man who set his Salt Lake City home ablaze last year in an alleged attempt to kill his wife was sentenced to prison Monday.

Daniel Ivins, 34, was sentenced to one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison for setting fire to the home he shared with three other people, and up to five years in prison for assaulting his wife days before.

The sentences will run concurrently, according to court documents.

Ivins appeared before 3rd District Judge Denise Lindberg on Monday, having spent the previous eight months in the Salt Lake County jail. He was ordered to begin his prison term immediately.

According to charges, Ivins and his wife, Sonnie Ivins, had been arguing on May 8, when he slapped and punched her in the face. The woman retreated to a back room inside their home, 377 N. 800 West, which is split into two apartments — one on the ground level, which the Ivins shared, and one on the upper level, where the woman's mother, LaRue Morrison, lived with Anthony Flannery.

Moments after Sonnie Ivins fled into the upstairs apartment, court documents state, Morrison heard Daniel Ivins yell, "I hope you die in hell."

Then, Flannery smelled smoke.

No one was hurt in the fire, which spread rapidly through the home, leaving the structure severely damaged.

According to police, Sonnie Ivins told Salt Lake City firefighters who responded to the scene that her husband had assaulted her.

A fire investigator concluded that Ivins had set fire to a love seat in the couple's home.

Prosecutors dropped three additional charges against Ivins — including a first-degree felony count of attempted murder — in exchange for his guilty pleas.

In January, Ivins pleaded guilty to second-degree felony arson and third-degree felony aggravated assault.

mlang@sltrib.com

Twitter: @Marissa_Jae