Police: Lynnwood stabbing suspect says she’ll hurt or kill if released

EVERETT — A Lynnwood woman, who was upset that she had no place to live, allegedly told police she enjoyed stabbing the maintenance man at her sister’s apartment building.

The man, 52, suffered a collapsed lung and underwent surgery at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He has since been released from the hospital.

Prosecutors recently charged Lisa Louise Williams with first-degree assault for the unprovoked July 9 attack. She was being held on $500,000 bail.

Williams, 41, was wielding a kitchen knife when a man, his brother and his nephew raced to help the victim. One man tackled Williams and pinned her to the ground. His brother held her at gunpoint. The third man tended to the victim, applying pressure to a knife wound.

Williams told officers that she was crazy because she had just stabbed someone, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Edirin Okoloko wrote.

Later detectives interviewed Williams who said she’d been staying with her sister at the apartment complex after separating from her husband. Her sister reportedly kicked her out the day before. Williams told police she’d been wandering around all night and returned to her sister’s place to try to work things out. She didn’t persuade her sister to take her back in, Williams said.

“The defendant repeatedly stated that she was dead inside because she was homeless and that there was no one that could help her,” Okoloko wrote.

She told the detective she’d tried to get services in the past but to no avail. Williams said she wouldn’t need services now because she was going to jail, according to court papers. She allegedly told detectives she’d been thinking about hurting people all day, including killing children in the apartment complex pool.

She had taken the knife from her sister’s kitchen and attacked the victim while he was working in the maintenance closet. She tried to stab him a second time. He fought her off until the three men came to his aid after hearing the victim’s cries for help, Okoloko wrote.

Williams allegedly told the detective she shouldn’t be released from jail because she would hurt or kill someone else.

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.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.