PHOTO: Formal charges were filed Wednesday against a man accused of stabbing his grandfather and then setting him and his house on fire.
Maxwell Wolcott, 28, of Murray, was charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated murder, aggravated arson and aggravated burglary, all first-degree felonies; and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.
On Jan. 10, the Salt Lake City Fire Department responded to a house fire just after 7 a.m. at 717 E. Logan Avenue. Inside a bedroom, they found the body of John H. Peel, 74, and discovered not only had he suffered “extensive burns,” but had also been stabbed, according to charging documents. A knife and a pair of scissors were found next to Peel’s body, the charges state.