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MURRAY - Detectives are seeking a paroled murderer as a "person of interest" in the death of a woman whose body was discovered this week in her Murray home.
Police found Ann Poulson, 68, dead under "very suspicious" conditions Tuesday afternoon in her home at 820 E. 5200 South. Her car was missing. The door was locked, and there was no sign of a break-in, said Detective Jeff Maglish.
He would not say what was suspicious about her death, or whether Poulson suffered obvious injuries.
Officers are looking for James William Tolbert, 41, whom state Corrections officials named to their "Most Wanted" list after he absconded parole Saturday. He was released from prison in April 2006 after serving about 17 years for strangling his wife in 1987.
Parole officers first could not find Tolbert after he was identified by an assault victim Saturday in a Woods Cross apartment, said Corrections spokesman Jack Ford. A 43-year-old man told police Tolbert struck him over the head with a blunt instrument, Woods Cross police said.
Tolbert had been working with a landscape firm and living in Bountiful, Ford said.
Friends and neighbors pointed police toward Tolbert, whom Ann Poulson, 68, befriended when she volunteered at Utah State Prison in Draper years ago. Poulson was trying to help Tolbert get back on his feet after he was released, friends said.
A friend, who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation, said Poulson once told her, "I feel like I have another son." Poulson also said Tolbert recently asked to stay at her home, and she told him no, the friend recounted. Tolbert also had begun to ask Poulson for money, the friend said.
Poulson told the friend she last saw Tolbert about two and a half weeks ago. He is described as 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds.
A jury found Tolbert guilty of second-degree murder in 1988, a year after 26-year-old Janie Heller-Tolbert was strangled and her body hidden near the Jordan River. The couple met when Heller-Tolbert was a teacher and Tolbert a student at West High School. Tolbert was sentenced to five years to life in prison.
Investigators also were gathering evidence from Poulson's missing 2002 white Honda, which police found Wednesday morning in a parking space at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City. Maglish had no details as to the condition of the car or what clues it contained.
Detectives and medical examiners also were trying to pinpoint when Poulson died, Maglish said. Neighbors called police Tuesday afternoon near 800 East and 5200 South to say they had not seen Poulson in a while.
Neighbor Vickie Hofheins, who has known Poulson for more than 40 years, said she last saw Poulson on Friday at a water aerobics class they attended together. That afternoon, Hofheins left a message on Poulson's answering machine. Poulson never called back, Hofheins said.
When Hofheins arrived at Poulson's house early Monday to pick her up for another class, Poulson did not come to the door.
"She was so dependable," Hofheins said.
Hofheins and neighbor Sue McDonald said Poulson had lived alone since her husband moved to a nursing home for medical reasons.
They said Poulson likely knew whoever was last in her home; her door was locked whenever they visited her, and she always looked out the window to see who was at the door before opening it, they said.
"She was a very cautious person but very giving," Hofheins said.
The three friends moved to the neighborhood when it first was developed in the 1960s and raised their families there, they said. Poulson and her husband have three adult children, who live in Arizona and Montana, the neighbors said.
The violence shocked McDonald.
She described Poulson as "the most organized person I've ever met," and said she was instrumental in coordinating activities in their LDS ward.
"I don't know how it'll work without her," McDonald said.
Poulson worked in accounting at the Deseret Morning News.
"One could not ask for a more pleasant employee and co-worker," the newspaper's Chief Financial Officer Michael Todd said a statement. "She had an angelic nature and a gift for kindness. . . . We will miss Ann and her sparkling sense of humor. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of Ann's family and friends."
Anyone with information about the case can call Murray police at 801-840-4000.