MILL CREEK — The 83-year-old man was bloodied and battered after fighting off his knife-wielding grandson but he insisted that police officers first check on his wife.
During the attack, his grandson admitted that he already had killed Betty Sorg, 83, according to new court documents. Shane Hathaway also told his grandfather he had to kill him because President Barack Obama said so.
James Sorg fought off the younger man and barricaded himself in his room. Police officers located a 10-inch butcher knife on the floor outside the door.
Betty Sorg’s body was discovered in Hathaway’s room. The medical examiner counted more than 30 stab wounds to her neck and head. There were a dozen more wounds to her hands. Betty Sorg had tried to fight off the attack.
Prosecutors on Friday charged Hathaway with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty Monday in Snohomish County Superior Court. Trial was scheduled for March 27. He was being held on $2 million bail.
Mill Creek police officers were concerned for the Sorgs’ safety well before the Jan. 15 killing. Hathaway, 24, lives with schizophrenia and also is an illegal drug user. He has a history of delusions and has reported hearing voices. He also has threatened to harm his grandparents in the past.
In March, Betty Sorg called 911 to report that Hathaway grabbed her arm and screamed at her after she asked him to turn down his music and tried to help him clean up a spill on his desk. Mill Creek police arrested Hathaway and he was charged with fourth-degree domestic violence assault.
The city prosecutor in August requested that Hathaway be prohibited from having contact with his grandmother. His defense attorney objected, saying Hathaway was living with his grandparents and would have to find somewhere else to live. District Court Judge Jeffrey Goodwin declined to issue the no-contact order.
Hathaway was due back in court in December. He missed the hearing because he was in jail serving his sentence for a felony burglary conviction. He was ordered to provide proof of his mental health treatment at his next hearing. Two weeks later, the misdemeanor charge was dismissed. It remains unclear why the charge was dropped.
James Sorg was watching television in his room with the door closed on Jan. 15. He told detectives he is hard of hearing so he closes the door so the noise wouldn’t bother his wife or grandson. Hathway came into the room and said something Sorg couldn’t hear. He asked him to come closer. That’s when he noticed Hathaway was holding a butcher knife, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Scott Halloran wrote in court papers.
Hathaway told his grandfather he had to kill him, that Obama had ordered it. Sorg tried to calm his grandson down but Hathaway allegedly attacked him with the knife. The two struggled and Sorg pushed his grandson off of him enough to avoid being stabbed in the throat. He was cut in his head, chest and hands during the struggle.
Sorg asked, “What did you do to Grandma?”
“I killed her,” Hathaway reportedly replied.
When Hathaway left the room, Sorg locked himself inside, barricaded the door and called 911.
Police searched the house and found James Sorg first. He was having trouble moving. His shirt was bloody and he was holding a cloth to his neck to stanch the bleeding.
Officers tried to get him to leave for the hospital. He insisted they first needed to find his wife.
Betty Sorg was found face down under tangled bedding on the floor in her grandson’s room.
Hathaway was gone from the house. A shower was running and a black hooded sweatshirt was on the floor. Three hours later he emerged from a wooded area near the house. He was wearing only a jacket and socks and appeared to be covered in blood. Hathaway suggested that he was having a bad reaction to methamphetamine, Halloran wrote.
Detectives interviewed Hathaway’s father, who had spoken with his son earlier that day. Hathaway reportedly told his father he was feeling suicidal and also said he hadn’t been taking his medications.
About a week after the attack the family called police to report that they’d found a knife in the toilet after it had been flushed. It appeared to have blood on it. Detectives collected the knife.
Hathaway was convicted last year of second-degree burglary after breaking into DJ Market, near the house he shared with his grandparents. In August 2013, he had smashed the glass front door and stolen cans of an alcoholic beverage. Hathaway was found near the store. He had cuts to his hands, legs and feet and reeked of alcohol. He was taken to a local hospital, where tests showed that he had a blood alcohol level of .43 — more than five times the legal limit to drive a vehicle. He was sentenced to two months in jail.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
