Former Calgary Stampeders linebacker charged with murder in wife’s death in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — A former CFL player sliced his wife’s neck and then crawled on the ground outside their rented Utah condominium before flagging down a police officer, prosecutors said in murder charges filed Monday.
The bloody scene in the ski town of Park City indicated that Keri “KC” McClanahan, 28, put up a desperate struggle before she was killed. The murder weapon was a small, sharp knife she’d worn sheathed in a nylon paracord bracelet, charging documents state.
Police found her husband, Anthony D. McClanahan, 46, covered in blood and crawling on his stomach outside early in the morning of Nov. 2. He lifted himself up just enough to flag down a police officer, then dropped back down and began convulsing, his arms making a “snow angel motion,” the officer on scene told prosecutors.
Anthony McClanahan was treated for minor injuries and originally told officers he and his wife and baby had been attacked. Investigators, though, found no evidence of anyone else going into the building or of a baby at the Park Regency.
His wife’s body was found in the rented condominium after someone else at the building called 911, saying they’d seen him crawling low to the ground through the hallways and calling for help. Keri McClanahan had suffered several cuts to the front, back and sides of her neck, as well as other defensive wounds and carpet burns.
McClanahan was previously charged with child kidnapping last month after authorities said he took his eight-year-old son from a previous relationship from his school in Arizona on Oct. 3 and travelled with him through Nevada and Utah.
He was arrested in Utah on Oct. 12 and gave his son back, then bonded out of jail a week later.
He and his wife rented the condo in Park City a few days later, charging documents said.
Originally from Bakersfield, California, McClanahan played four years with the Calgary Stampeders in the mid-1990s after a collegiate career from 1991-93 playing linebacker at Washington State University. He was the Stampeders’ nominee for most outstanding rookie in 1995. He was in training camp with the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL in 1994 but never played in a game.