By Rikki King Herald Writer
MONROE — A man accused of stabbing his wife with a butcher knife in Monroe on Friday night is being held on $1 million bail.
The woman had sought a protection order against her husband on May 22, court records show. She was trying to serve him with the order when the attack occurred.
The woman, Jacoba Ramirez Rodriguez, 34, remains on life support at a Seattle trauma center. She was stabbed multiple times in the chest, abdomen and arms. There are questions whether she will survive, according to the arrest report.
Her husband, Oscar Garcia-Pacheco, 32, was being held Wednesday for investigation of first-degree attempted murder involving domestic violence.
The stabbing happened about 7 p.m. outside Rodriguez’s workplace along N. Lewis Street in Monroe. Garcia-Pacheco went to the business and Rodriguez went to her car to get the protection order, records show. She was stabbed on the sidewalk nearby.
Passersby then chased Garcia-Pacheco away from the woman. He was apprehended by officers in a nearby alley.
Police found Garcia-Pacheco holding the knife to his own throat. He reportedly demanded that officers shoot him.
He was subdued with shocks from an electronic stun gun before his arrest.
He was taken to Harborview Medical Center and underwent surgery for undisclosed injuries.
He was released from the hospital Tuesday and booked into the Snohomish County Jail. In court Wednesday, he wore a large bandage over his throat. He didn’t speak during the brief hearing.
Garcia-Pancheco reportedly told detectives that he had planned to take his own life that night.
In the protection order, Rodriguez wrote that she was scared of her husband and that he had hit her before. She had called police on May 20 after they got into an argument and she feared he would become violent, the order says.
The case is being investigated by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team because officers used potentially lethal force during the arrest.
Domestic-violence is a factor in about a quarter of the county’s homicides each year. In Washington state, roughly half of all domestic-violence homicides occur when the victim is trying to leave the relationship.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com
To get help
If you or someone you know needs help regarding domestic violence, contact the Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County hotline at 425-25-ABUSE, or 425-252-2873. The hotline is free and confidential, and advocates can help with safety plans. Friends, families and colleagues of victims also are encouraged to call.
