Tacoma man killed during stabbing identified. His stepson has been charged with murder
A Tacoma man who was killed in a stabbing inside his home last week has been identified, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Michael Spears, 59, died from stabs wounds to the torso on Feb. 11 in the 4500 block of Heron Ridge Drive Northeast. His manner of death has been ruled a homicide, the office wrote in a news release.
Spears’ stepson, 28-year-old Gaven Lee Flowers, was arrested after he reported the incident as a “homicide by self-defense” to police at the department’s Northeast Substation. When asked if the homicide involved him, Flowers allegedly said, “Yes,” according to charging documents.
Police found Spears’ body in the third-floor bathroom of his home. Officers noted a “considerable amount” of blood on the floor.
Flowers was charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors say he stabbed his stepfather 18 times, according to charging documents.
Flowers is being held at the Pierce County Jail while awaiting a competency evaluation that was ordered in Superior Court last week. Prosecutors believe Flowers is exhibiting severe mental-health issues. A competency hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 27, court records show.
The defendant is the son of Tacoma Public Utilities director Jackie Flowers, a TPU spokesperson told The News Tribune last week. TPU confirmed on Wednesday that Jackie Flowers is on indefinite personal leave.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 1:35 PM.
