Tacoma man accused of stabbing his girlfriend 12 times
A Tacoma man is accused of stabbing his girlfriend 12 times and ordering their neighbors not to call 911 after he dragged her outside.
The 34-year-old pleaded not guilty Friday to first-degree assault with a deadly weapon.
He was ordered held on $1 million bail.
The attack took place Thursday at an apartment complex in the 5900 block of Sixth Avenue.
Several neighbors called 911 to report a woman had been injured during a fight with a man.
Police arrived and found the victim lying on the ground being helped by witnesses.
Her boyfriend of two years stood nearby in clothes covered in blood.
The man told officers he returned home, heard his girlfriend screaming for help and saw a man jump out the back window, according to charging papers.
When police questioned why the window screen was still on, the man allegedly said he’d replaced the screen after his helping his girlfriend outside.
Neighbors contradicted his story.
They “told law enforcement that (the boyfriend) was trying to get (the victim) back inside the residence and telling everyone not to call 911,” prosecutors wrote in charging documents. “Several neighbors told officers that they heard a female screaming for help, went outside and saw (the suspect) dragging (his girlfriend) by her shirt.”
The victim was taken to Tacoma General Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
She suffered 12 knife wounds to her thigh, neck, arms, wrists and one above her eye, records say.
The suspect has three prior second-degree assault convictions from 2001 and 2006.
This story was originally published April 20, 2020 at 1:19 PM.
