Officials: Stabbing suspect heard voices telling him to kill someone

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A Port Angeles homeless man reportedly told officials he heard voices telling him to kill someone, which resulted in him stabbing a Port Townsend homeless man multiple times.

First responders were dispatched at 9:16 a.m. to Jefferson Street in Port Townsend after receiving “multiple calls of a man with a knife fighting another man by the green fence outside of Memorial Field,” a release from PTPD Public Information Officer Keppie Keplinger stated.

According to that release, Matthew Malone, 22, was arrested for attempted murder, a felony punishable by 15 years to life in prison, if no prior criminal history.

Kepplinger reported two officers were on patrol at the time of the incident and both responded to the scene where they found a 57-year-old male had been stabbed in the back and head.

He was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle in serious condition, however, Keplinger reported as of 2 p.m. July 2, he was in stable condition.

Malone was arrested at the scene and transported to Jefferson Healthcare for evaluation before being booked at the jail. 

“Malone told officers he was transient and come to Port Townsend after hearing (voices) telling him to kill someone,” Keplinger stated. “He saw the victim, previously unknown to him, in downtown Port Townsend and followed him to the fence behind Memorial Field where he stabbed him multiple times.”

Malone’s initial appearance was at 11:30 a.m. July 2 in Jefferson County Superior Court, where it was decided he was to be held on a $500,000 cash or bond.

According to Superior Court Judge Keith Harper, Malone is considered an “extreme risk to the public,” does not have local family and is a high flight risk, which determined the bond.

Malone’s arraignment is tentatively set for 8:30 a.m. July 6.

 

Staff writer Kirk Boxleitner contributed to this story.