He attacked ex-girlfriend, police say, then stabbed her friend when he tried to stop it

A Puyallup man killed helping a friend retrieve belongings from her ex-boyfriend was stabbed at least five times in the head and back, records show.

Investigators are sorting through varying stories from Timothy Wilson, 50, and his 30-year-old ex-girlfriend about what happened Monday.

The woman claims she and Matthew Peru, 46, went to Wilson’s home in the 12010 block of 115th Avenue Court East to get tools she’d left there.

When Wilson saw them, he allegedly charged his ex with a pickax and knocked her onto the ground.

That prompted Peru to tackle Wilson.

“The two men ended up falling into the trailer and out of her sight,” according to court documents. “She did not see what happened inside the trailer, but reports that Peru came out of the trailer saying he had been stabbed.”

Peru collapsed and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Wilson admitted to stabbing Peru, but claimed his ex-girlfriend first pointed a gun at him, which is why he knocked her to the ground.

He said he used a kitchen knife to stab Peru after the man grabbed him around the waist and lifted him up.

Peru was stabbed three times in the back and twice in the head, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Prosecutors on Thursday charged Wilson with second-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty at arraignment, and Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff set bail at $1 million.

This story was originally published October 19, 2017 at 11:26 AM with the headline "He attacked ex-girlfriend, police say, then stabbed her friend when he tried to stop it."