A locksmith in Midway, Utah is the silent hero in a domestic violence case after his attention to detail helped save a woman’s life.
It all started Friday when a locksmith, who asked reporters only to identify him by his first name, Greg, was hired to change the lock on a woman’s front door in Midway—just 45 minutes southeast of Salt Lake City.
Greg says when he finished the job and gave the woman his invoice, she showed him her hand, which had “911” written on it.
Immediately, Greg knew something was wrong, and reflected back on his time at the client’s house.
He said there was a man in the house, who “acted suspiciously, staying close to the female and only allowing her to have her phone with his permission,” according to a police report that was filed by Wasatch County Sheriff’s deputies.
“I was wearing a mask, so I couldn’t mouth anything to her or anything,” Greg told KSTU. “She’s showing me the ‘911’ again, kind of making sure that I saw it. And I made eye contact with her, to basically let her know that yeah, I saw it.”
Greg says when he left, he called a friend in the FBI to ask what he should do. Then he called 911.
When authorities arrived at the home, they learned that the man, Grant Eggertsen, had been in a relationship with the woman in the past and had entered the home without her permission Thursday.
According to the report, the woman said Eggertsen was upset that she was dating someone else and they began to argue.
She also said that during the argument, Eggertsen assaulted her and would not allow her to leave her house or have her phone so she could make calls.
Deputies arrested Eggersten and the Wasatch County Attorney’s Office charged him with aggravated kidnapping in the course of committing unlawful detention, criminal trespass and assault. He was later released on a $5,000 bond.
According to the report, the woman had scheduled the locksmith appointment before Eggersten arrived because she wanted to keep him out of her house.
“The lady was pretty smart to be able to do what she did,” Greg said. “And so, it’s not like I was trying to guess what was really going on. She gave me some great clues that there was an issue there.”
National Domestic Violence Hotline: Call 1-800-799-7233 or text LOVEIS to 22522 Available 24/7. Can connect callers with local resources and immediate support. Also available through its online chat tool.
