Man Accused Of Trying To Kill His Wife Captured

After two days of eluding law enforcement officers, a man accused of trying to murder his common-law wife was discovered hiding in a Russian olive tree near Interstate 84.

His arrest may provide clues to the unsolved murder of Burley teenager Regina Krieger last winter.

Julian Garcia Hernandez, 27, was captured Saturday after 50 state and local police officers, sheriff’s deputies and state investigators swept a field where cows were grazing.

He was the fourth arrest in the case involving his common-law wife, who claims he beat her with a tire iron and then tried to drown her near Milner Dam, said Jerome Sheriff George Silver III.

Hernandez - also known as “Bo” - has possible connections to the murder of 14-year-old Krieger, Silver said. With his arrest, people may be more willing to come forward, he said.

The murder case has been hampered by Krieger’s teenage friends who will not talk, apparently in fear of retaliation.

Hernandez has been mentioned as a suspect in the Krieger case, Cassia County Sheriff Billy Crystal said. No direct evidence ties him to the murder, but more information may be coming after he is interviewed this week, Crystal said.

“We’re glad Bo’s in jail,” said Alan Smith, chief detective for the Cassia County Sheriff’s Department, which is handling the Krieger case. He refused to comment further.

Hernandez now faces charges of kidnapping and attempted murder, Silver said, and may face others.

Wearing a green vest and tan pants, Hernandez blended into the tree where he was hiding. A team of four officers and a dog walking through the stand of Russian olives missed him the first time around.