SEATTLE — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
A 51-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death of an 83-year-old resident at a Seattle group home on Nov. 8, prosecutors said.
Charging documents allege that Michael John Perdew killed William Wallace.
Prosecutors said Perdew admitted to stabbing Wallace multiple times after earlier threatening him with a knife.
After an hours-long standoff, police arrested Perdew.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on Nov. 18 in King County Superior Court.
At approximately 11:45 a.m. on Nov. 8, Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers responded to a threat with a knife in the 1100 block of N. 84th Street, SPD announced.
Court documents obtained by KIRO Newsradio revealed that Wallace had called 911 roughly one hour before he was stabbed to death by his roommate. Wallace claimed that his roommate had a knife and was threatening to use it on him.
SWAT response initiated for North Seattle stabbing
Shortly after officers arrived at the scene, they were advised by dispatch of a separate 911 call, reporting that someone had been stabbed inside the home.
SPD officers entered the home and located a man suffering from life-threatening injuries in the upstairs living room of the mental health group home.
The victim was on the ground in a fetal position with a large amount of blood underneath him, according to court documents.
Seattle Fire Department (SFD) crews responded to provide life-saving efforts, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect barricaded himself inside the residence, and SPD negotiators arrived to coerce the suspect into surrendering.
The suspect refused to stand down, and the SPD SWAT team arrived to assume tactical command of the scene. After nearly five hours of negotiations with the suspect, he exited the residence, and SWAT arrested the man using less-lethal tools.
Stabbing suspect’s statements
After the suspect was read his rights, he uttered something along the lines of, “I stabbed him because he attacked me,” according to court documents.
The suspect told investigators that he had made multiple threats toward the victim and another roommate throughout the day. The knife was used in each instance to threaten two of the roommates.
Notably, the suspect revealed to investigators that he had threatened a different roommate and had planned to kill him but decided against it.
The suspect held the knife in front of the victim’s face and told him to leave. The suspect then “brushed” the victim’s left temple twice, and “sliced” his temple once.
Investigators were informed that the suspect “was trying to ‘get his point across’ and ‘make it clear’ so he then ‘poked’ [the victim] in the left flank area and in his chest,” according to court documents.
Shortly after the threats and cuts to the temple, the victim was stabbed in the knee and thigh area, which forced him to fall to the floor. The suspect was told that the victim was pronounced dead, to which he responded, “I don’t feel bad about that.”
When investigators produced images of each roommate for identification, the suspect relayed, “That is the guy that I hurt today.”
The suspect was transported to the King County Jail and booked for investigation of first-degree murder and felony harassment.
A King County judge ruled that there was probable cause to hold the suspect on suspicion of first-degree murder.
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