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Marital troubles between Sione Talanoa and his wife - which included Talanoa's affair with another woman - exploded at their Salt Lake City apartment in January, according to testimony Friday.
Talanoa allegedly choked 40-year-old Lisa Pouha in their bedroom, then followed her outside and stabbed her at least 10 times with a kitchen knife, according to Ilaisaane Unga, who was staying with the couple.
Unga testified in a preliminary hearing that Pouha's last words were: "Sione. It's me, Lisa. Please don't do this."
Following the hearing, Talanoa, 38, was ordered to stand trial on one count of first-degree felony murder. He is to be arraigned April 30 before 3rd District Judge Randall Skanchy.
Prior to the attack in the early morning hours of Jan. 23, Talanoa had been on the phone with his "mistress," who was pregnant with Talanoa's son, Unga said.
Later, Unga said, she heard Talanoa and Pouha arguing in the kitchen. Then Talanoa chased Pouha into their bedroom, where Unga said she saw Talanoa with his hands around his wife's throat.
Moments later, the woman ran from the apartment, followed by Talanoa.
Unga, who also ran outside, said Pouha twice yelled, "Help," before Talanoa grabbed her from behind, took a kitchen knife from his pocket and began stabbing her.
Unga said that when Talanoa looked at her, "I ran for my life." She said she fled to a friend's home a block away.
The victim's 1:15 a.m. cries woke at least two neighbors who live near the crime scene, at 855 S. Pueblo St.
Danielle Gallegos told The Tribune in January that she looked out her window and saw a man repeatedly stabbing a woman. "I watched him kill her," she said.