Bystanders rush to restrain man attacking person with a knife, California cops say
A 37-year-old was arrested in the stabbing of a person in California after bystanders restrained him, police said.
On June 23, Santa Rosa officers responded after getting a call that a person had been stabbed, according to a Facebook post by the police department.
Officers arrived and gave the victim, whom police didn't identify, medical aid before they were taken to the Memorial Hospital with serious injuries, officers said.
After investigating, police learned a man, later identified as Robert Dean, of New Mexico, came up behind the victim and stabbed him with a pocketknife in an unprovoked attack, officers said.
Police didn't specify if the two knew each other.
During the attack, bystanders restrained Dean and were able to disarm him, officers said.
He was arrested and booked into the Sonoma County correctional facility on a charge of attempted murder, officers said.
Santa Rosa is about a 60-mile drive northwest from San Francisco.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
29 minutes ago
- CBS News
Bryan Kohberger accepts plea deal in fatal stabbings of 4 Idaho college students, prosecutors say
Bryan Kohberger has accepted a plea deal that will spare him the death penalty in the slayings of four University of Idaho students in November 2022, according to a letter sent to the victims' families by prosecutors. Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in the stabbings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, who were killed at a home in Moscow, Idaho, during the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022. In the letter, portions of which were shown to CBS News by Mogen's father, Ben Mogen, the Latah County Prosecutor's Office says attorneys for Kohberger requested a plea deal and Kohberger accepted it. The letter says Kohberger agreed to plead guilty to all the counts against him and that he would be sentenced to "four consecutive (back to back) life sentences on the four Murder counts" and would waive all rights to appeal. The letter also says that if Kohberger "enters guilty pleas as expected" at an upcoming hearing, "we anticipate that this case will be set for sentencing in late July. If Defendant does not enter guilty pleas as expected, we are prepared to proceed to trial as planned." The date of the plea hearing was uncertain as of Tuesday morning. Kohberger had been fighting the charges. His trial was expected to begin in August, following several delays. An attorney for the family of one of the other victims, Kaylee Goncalves, also confirmed to CBS News that they received a proposed plea deal for Kohberger. The murders terrorized the community, and for weeks, the hunt for a suspect was shrouded in mystery. Kohberger was arrested six weeks later at his parents' home in Pennsylvania. According to a police affidavit, DNA evidence linked him to a knife sheath found at the crime scene. At the time of his arrest, Kohberger was a Ph.D. criminology student and teaching assistant at Washington State University's Pullman campus, which is about a 15-minute drive from Moscow, Idaho. After news broke of the plea deal, a post on the Goncalves family's Facebook page said, "We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho. They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected. We appreciate all your love and support." In a separate post, the family said they attended a meeting with prosecutors. Aubrie Goncalves, the youngest member of the family, was not able to attend the meeting and said in a written statement, "The introduction of this plea deal, just weeks before the scheduled trial, is both shocking and cruel." She continued, "Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world. Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever." In a formal statement, the Goncalves family said, "The Latah County Prosecutor's Office's treatment of our family during this process is something I wouldn't wish on anyone." The family added that "it was no shock how the Latah County Prosecutor's Office mishandled the plea deal. They vaguely mentioned a possible plea on Friday, without seeking our input, and presented the plea on Sunday. Latah County should be ashamed of its Prosecutor's Office." The trial was originally going to be held in Latah County, where the murders occurred, but Latah County District Judge John Judge later ordered the trial be moved over concerns the media coverage and statements from local officials would make it impossible for Kohberger to receive a fair trial. The Idaho Supreme Court moved the proceedings to Boise. Bryan Kohberger listens to arguments during a pre-trial hearing on Oct. 26, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. Kai Eiselein / Getty Images Kohberger's defense team had previously tried to remove the death penalty as a possible sentence if he was convicted, but Ada County Judge Steven Hippler denied their motions back in November 2024. Among the evidence prosecutors were planning to present was Kohberger's Amazon purchase history showing he bought a Ka-Bar knife with sheath and sharpener, which they claimed matched the sheath found at the crime scene. Prosecutors also claimed "touch DNA" matching DNA taken from Kohberger was found on the sheath. The defense tried to exclude the touch DNA evidence, but Hippler denied that request. Prosecutors were also planning to present surveillance video of Kohberger's car and cellphone data that they said tied him to the vicinity of the killings. Last week, the judge denied a motion by Kohberger's lawyers, who were seeking to argue that four "alternate perpetrators" could have committed the murders. The judge called it "rank speculation" and said "nothing links these individuals to the homicides."
San Francisco Chronicle
7 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bryan Kohberger to plead guilty to murder in Idaho student stabbings to avoid death penalty
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, an attorney for one victim's family said. Shanon Gray, an attorney representing the family of Kaylee Goncalves, confirmed Monday that prosecutors informed the families of the deal by email and letter earlier in the day, and that his clients were upset about it. 'We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho," Goncalves' family wrote in a Facebook post. "They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected.' They spoke with the prosecution on Friday about the idea of a plea deal and they explained they were firmly against it, the family wrote in another post. By Sunday, they received an email that 'sent us scrambling,' and met with the prosecution again on Monday to explain their views about pushing for the death penalty. 'Unfortunately all of our efforts did not matter. We DID OUR BEST! We fought harder then anyone could EVER imagine,' the family wrote. A change of plea hearing was set for Wednesday, but the family has asked prosecutors to delay it to give them more time to travel to Boise, Gray said. Kohberger's trial was set for August in Boise, where it was moved following pretrial publicity in rural northern Idaho. Kohberger, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, early on Nov. 13, 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times. At the time, Kohberger was a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University, about 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) west of the University of Idaho. He was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, weeks later. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene. No motive has emerged for the killings, nor is it clear why the attacker spared two roommates who were in the home. Authorities have said cellphone data and surveillance video shows that Kohberger visited the victims' neighborhood at least a dozen times before the killings. The murders shocked the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn't had a homicide in about five years, and prompted a massive hunt for the perpetrator. That included an elaborate effort to track down a white sedan that was seen on surveillance cameras repeatedly driving by the rental home, to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect through the use of genetic genealogy and to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings through cellphone data. In a court filing, Kohberger's lawyers said he was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed. In the letter to families, obtained by ABC News, prosecutors said Kohberger's lawyers approached them seeking to reach a plea deal. The defense team had previously made unsuccessful efforts to have the death penalty stricken as a possible punishment, including arguing that Kohberger's autism diagnosis made him less culpable. The prosecutors said they met with available family members last week before deciding to make Kohberger an offer. 'This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,' the letter said. 'This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction, appeals. Your viewpoints weighed heavily in our decision-making process, and we hope that you may come to appreciate why we believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice.' In a Facebook post, the Goncalves family wrote that Kaylee's 18-year-old sister, Aubrie, had been unable to attend the meeting with prosecutors. But she shared her concerns in a written statement. 'Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world,' Aubrie Goncalves wrote. 'Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever. That reality stings more deeply when it feels like the system is protecting his future more than honoring the victims' pasts.' In Idaho, judges may reject plea agreements, though such moves are rare. If a judge rejects a plea agreement, the defendant is allowed to withdraw the guilty plea. Earlier Monday, a Pennsylvania judge had ordered that three people whose testimony was requested by defense attorneys would have to travel to Idaho to appear at Kohberger's trial. The defense subpoenas were granted regarding a boxing trainer who knew Kohberger as a teenager, a childhood acquaintance of Kohberger's and a third man whose significance was not explained. A gag order has largely kept attorneys, investigators and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial. ___
8 hours ago
Husband of Suzanne Morphew to appear in court to face murder charge a second time
DENVER -- The husband of a woman who disappeared on Mother's Day 2020 is set to appear in court in Colorado on Tuesday for the first time since being charged again with murder in her death. Barry Morphew was arrested June 20 in Arizona after being newly indicted in the death of Suzanne Morphew, three years after the initial case against him was dropped because of prosecutorial issues with evidence. Authorities announced Monday that he had arrived at the jail in the small southern Colorado city of Alamosa, not far from where Suzanne Morphew's skeletal remains were found off a dirt road in September 2023. Her remains were discovered accidentally as authorities were searching for another missing woman a year after prosecutors dropped their initial prosecution of Morphew. A 2024 autopsy report said Suzanne Morphew died of 'unspecified means' but ruled her death a homicide. While her remains showed no signs of trauma, investigators found in her bone marrow a drug cocktail used to tranquilize wildlife that her husband had a prescription for, according to the indictment. Barry Morphew has maintained his innocence since his wife disappeared. Two attorneys listed in court documents as representing Morphew at Tuesday's hearing, David Beller and Jane Fisher-Byrialsen, did not immediately return telephone or email messages seeking comment. Beller has previously criticized prosecutors for allowing 'their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence.' The mystery surrounding Suzanne Morphew began when the 49-year-old mother of two daughters, who lived near the small mountain community of Salida, Colorado, was reported missing on Mother's Day 2020. Her mountain bike and helmet were found in separate spots not far from her home, but investigators suspected the bike was purposefully thrown into a ravine because there were no indications of a crash. A week after his wife went missing, Barry Morphew posted a video on Facebook pleading for her safe return and the case quickly drew attention. In May 2021, prosecutors charged him with murder. They subsequently dropped the case in 2022 just as Morphew was about to stand trial. A judge had barred prosecutors from calling key witnesses after the attorneys repeatedly failed to follow rules for turning over evidence in Morphew's favor. The latest case is being prosecuted by a different prosecutor in a separate judicial district where Suzanne Morphew's remains were found, a rural area about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of the Morphews' home. Investigators found at the site a port through which Suzanne Morphew could receive medicine to treat follicular lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that she had. They also found biking clothes similar to what she was known to wear. Based on the condition of the remains and clothes, a forensic anthropologist theorized that the body likely decomposed elsewhere before being moved to the site, according to Morphew's new indictment.
