Published: Monday, July 19, 2010
Everett stabbing suspect knifed another landlady in 1980
EVERETT — An Everett man who spent decades confined to a state mental hospital after he stabbed his landlady with a knife was ordered held on $2.5 million bail on Monday after witnesses reported that he committed a nearly identical attack Sunday at an Everett apartment building.
That attack was fatal.
Police suspect that Steven R. Well stabbed his landlady multiple times with a knife while the two were inside the front door of the brick building. Well, 58, was arrested Sunday for investigation of second-degree murder.
Family identified the victim as Judy Garcia, 64. She ran the Edison Apartments on Colby Avenue for many years, and was often seen walking downtown with her grandchildren or neighborhood dogs.
It is unclear what led to Sunday’s attack.
Well has a long history of violence and mental illness, court records show.
Well was committed to Western State Hospital in 1980 after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity for an attack on another woman who was then his landlady. He was accused of breaking into her apartment and stabbing her. She survived.
Well later told a psychiatrist that he believed the woman was invading his brain with electrical signals. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
He was released to a group home in 1983, but returned to Western State Hospital five years later after he used a hammer to attack another resident at a
Tacoma group home where he was staying.
Well fought his confinement and the legal battle stretched over decades.
“It is unfortunate that Mr. Well continues to dwell on his legal status. If he’d only spend half the energy and time he does thinking about the legal system on his treatment, he could be more successful,” a doctor wrote in a progress report in the 1990s.
However, in 2001 the state Court of Appeals ruled there were legal flaws at the hearing that resulted in Well being sent to the mental hospital. Although the state Supreme Court had previously ruled that Well belonged in a mental hospital, it declined to review the appellate court’s decision.
The case was sent back to Snohomish County Superior Court for a hearing in 2002.
There, a judge had to decide if there was adequate evidence proving that in 1980 Well was advised and understood that he wouldn’t be able to appeal the judge’s order to confine him to the state hospital, perhaps for the rest of his life.
At the 2002 hearing, more than two decades later, Well’s defense attorney couldn’t recall any specific conversation he’d had with Well regarding his confinement.
Prosecutors acknowledged they couldn’t prove that Well had legally waived his rights to appeal by entering into the agreement. The law has since changed, but in 1980, Well opted not to be in the courtroom, records show.
State mental health experts weren’t recommending that Well be released from the hospital. In 2002, a case review board found it “particularly important to bear in mind the ‘significant lethality of his previous violence,’” according to court documents.
Prosecutors were in a tough spot. They faced re-trying Well on 22-year-old assault and burglary charges and the real prospect that he could beat the rap and be released without restrictions.
Instead, as part of an agreement entered in 2004, Well admitted he committed the crimes and once again was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was granted a conditional release with a number of restrictions, including court orders requiring him to take his medications, attending weekly therapy sessions and finding stable housing.
Well’s progress reports were filed with the court. The last letter in the file was dated Dec. 2008. The therapist indicated that Well continued to take medications and meet with mental health professionals.
“He is stable at this time,” a nurse wrote.
It’s unclear if Well had discontinued his medications and treatment plan prior to Sunday’s arrest.
He declined to speak with police on Sunday. A tenant told investigators that she found Well on top of Garcia, stabbing her. The tenant pulled Well off of the woman and he fled to his apartment, according to an affidavit filed in Everett District Court.
Police later found what appeared to be blood on Well’s pant leg. He also had small cuts to his right hand.
Well was born in Portland, Ore. and lived there until he was 5. His father was a traveling encyclopedia salesman and later opened a hearing aid business in Everett, according to court records. Well told doctors he graduated from Cascade High School in 1970 and worked at a paper mill for three years.
His current neighbors on Colby said the suspect described himself as a screenwriter and hoped to get Tom Cruise to star in a lead role.
“I can’t stop thinking about him doing that to her,” said Kate McDonald, a resident who lived across the hall from Garcia in the apartment complex.
Garcia’s family said she had arrived home from church Sunday and was planning to walk her dog when she was attacked.
“It was absolutely senseless,” said her daughter, Rachel Hudson.
Her mom was just 5 foot 2 inches tall.
Garcia, a great-grandmother, had served two stints as landlady of the 22-unit complex across Colby Avenue from the Everett High School, the campus she once attended as a teenager.
Tenants described an energetic and upbeat woman who kept the complex neat, mowed its lawn and liked to cook meals which she gave away to others.
She also was known to chase off high school students thinking they could sneak a cigarette behind the three-story brick apartment complex.
“Everyone on the block knew her,” Hudson said.
McDonald said she often was greeted by a tap on the door and a warm meal, particularly tamales.
“She just took care of us,” said McDonald, an elementary school teacher. “She knew everything.”
McDonald paused for a moment, remembering how Garcia had her car moved so it wouldn’t get towed, frequently congratulated her on her weight loss and would walk her dog, Della.
“She was a good friend,” she said. “She had my back at all times.”
David McAuley, owner of the apartments, said Garcia did a good job. Sometimes he would stop by unannounced and find her working to keep the place tidy.
“I have only had one landlord and she was the best,” McAuley said. “She was more of an owner than I was.”
Snohomish resident Brian Callahan went to the apartment building Monday morning to express his condolences to Garcia’s family.
He said Garcia supported him when he was having personal troubles, always greeting him with a “Good morning, Brian.”
“She was like a springboard to better my life,” he said.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com
That attack was fatal.
Police suspect that Steven R. Well stabbed his landlady multiple times with a knife while the two were inside the front door of the brick building. Well, 58, was arrested Sunday for investigation of second-degree murder.
Family identified the victim as Judy Garcia, 64. She ran the Edison Apartments on Colby Avenue for many years, and was often seen walking downtown with her grandchildren or neighborhood dogs.
It is unclear what led to Sunday’s attack.
Well has a long history of violence and mental illness, court records show.
Well was committed to Western State Hospital in 1980 after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity for an attack on another woman who was then his landlady. He was accused of breaking into her apartment and stabbing her. She survived.
Well later told a psychiatrist that he believed the woman was invading his brain with electrical signals. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
He was released to a group home in 1983, but returned to Western State Hospital five years later after he used a hammer to attack another resident at a
Tacoma group home where he was staying.
Well fought his confinement and the legal battle stretched over decades.
“It is unfortunate that Mr. Well continues to dwell on his legal status. If he’d only spend half the energy and time he does thinking about the legal system on his treatment, he could be more successful,” a doctor wrote in a progress report in the 1990s.
However, in 2001 the state Court of Appeals ruled there were legal flaws at the hearing that resulted in Well being sent to the mental hospital. Although the state Supreme Court had previously ruled that Well belonged in a mental hospital, it declined to review the appellate court’s decision.
The case was sent back to Snohomish County Superior Court for a hearing in 2002.
There, a judge had to decide if there was adequate evidence proving that in 1980 Well was advised and understood that he wouldn’t be able to appeal the judge’s order to confine him to the state hospital, perhaps for the rest of his life.
At the 2002 hearing, more than two decades later, Well’s defense attorney couldn’t recall any specific conversation he’d had with Well regarding his confinement.
Prosecutors acknowledged they couldn’t prove that Well had legally waived his rights to appeal by entering into the agreement. The law has since changed, but in 1980, Well opted not to be in the courtroom, records show.
State mental health experts weren’t recommending that Well be released from the hospital. In 2002, a case review board found it “particularly important to bear in mind the ‘significant lethality of his previous violence,’” according to court documents.
Prosecutors were in a tough spot. They faced re-trying Well on 22-year-old assault and burglary charges and the real prospect that he could beat the rap and be released without restrictions.
Instead, as part of an agreement entered in 2004, Well admitted he committed the crimes and once again was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was granted a conditional release with a number of restrictions, including court orders requiring him to take his medications, attending weekly therapy sessions and finding stable housing.
Well’s progress reports were filed with the court. The last letter in the file was dated Dec. 2008. The therapist indicated that Well continued to take medications and meet with mental health professionals.
“He is stable at this time,” a nurse wrote.
It’s unclear if Well had discontinued his medications and treatment plan prior to Sunday’s arrest.
He declined to speak with police on Sunday. A tenant told investigators that she found Well on top of Garcia, stabbing her. The tenant pulled Well off of the woman and he fled to his apartment, according to an affidavit filed in Everett District Court.
Police later found what appeared to be blood on Well’s pant leg. He also had small cuts to his right hand.
Well was born in Portland, Ore. and lived there until he was 5. His father was a traveling encyclopedia salesman and later opened a hearing aid business in Everett, according to court records. Well told doctors he graduated from Cascade High School in 1970 and worked at a paper mill for three years.
His current neighbors on Colby said the suspect described himself as a screenwriter and hoped to get Tom Cruise to star in a lead role.
“I can’t stop thinking about him doing that to her,” said Kate McDonald, a resident who lived across the hall from Garcia in the apartment complex.
Garcia’s family said she had arrived home from church Sunday and was planning to walk her dog when she was attacked.
“It was absolutely senseless,” said her daughter, Rachel Hudson.
Her mom was just 5 foot 2 inches tall.
Garcia, a great-grandmother, had served two stints as landlady of the 22-unit complex across Colby Avenue from the Everett High School, the campus she once attended as a teenager.
Tenants described an energetic and upbeat woman who kept the complex neat, mowed its lawn and liked to cook meals which she gave away to others.
She also was known to chase off high school students thinking they could sneak a cigarette behind the three-story brick apartment complex.
“Everyone on the block knew her,” Hudson said.
McDonald said she often was greeted by a tap on the door and a warm meal, particularly tamales.
“She just took care of us,” said McDonald, an elementary school teacher. “She knew everything.”
McDonald paused for a moment, remembering how Garcia had her car moved so it wouldn’t get towed, frequently congratulated her on her weight loss and would walk her dog, Della.
“She was a good friend,” she said. “She had my back at all times.”
David McAuley, owner of the apartments, said Garcia did a good job. Sometimes he would stop by unannounced and find her working to keep the place tidy.
“I have only had one landlord and she was the best,” McAuley said. “She was more of an owner than I was.”
Snohomish resident Brian Callahan went to the apartment building Monday morning to express his condolences to Garcia’s family.
He said Garcia supported him when he was having personal troubles, always greeting him with a “Good morning, Brian.”
“She was like a springboard to better my life,” he said.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com
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