Neighbors shocked after alleged St. George townhome murder

ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) – Neighbors in the Southgate Townhome community in St. George are processing an alleged murder they say happened way too close to home.

“I was really shocked, uh usually nothing like this, it’s a good neighborhood nothing like this ever happens, it was very surprising,” says Kyler Donk.

44-year-old Jonathon David Cross was arrested Wednesday for allegedly murdering his girlfriend, Lisa Breinholt.

According to probable cause documents, a caller reported to police that Cross killed his girlfriend. Police say Cross then showed up at the department in her car Wednesday morning, admitting to the murder, and was taken to the hospital for medical evaluation.

“I work nightshift so I came home and police knocked on my door like in the afternoon, like ‘hey did you hear?’ And I’m like what’s going on? And I came out here and all this is blocked off and I’m like what in the world is going on?” says Marilin Marquez.

Marquez lives right across the street from the scene and says while she didn’t personally interact with Cross, her boyfriend on brief occasions did.

“Every time he’s had a conversation with him, he’s told me he seems a little off, a little weird,” she says.

Officers say they arrived to the townhome in St. George to find Breinholt dead with multiple stab wounds including defensive wounds on her hands.

Police say according to Cross, the two were together for 5-6 years and lived together.

“The window was always closed, so to see it open, it probably smells maybe they tried to clean it, like chemicals, that’s what they were trying to do, air it out,” says Marquez.

St. George detectives say after investigating the room and finding a gory crime scene, they are asking Cross to be held without bail as he is ‘a clear threat to society’ if released.

For Jordan Verdadeiro's full broadcast piece, click here.