Zachary Madding (right), 28, is accused of holding down his girlfriend at a Mukilteo motel to force Xanax down her throat and fentanyl into her nose. Police arrested him for investigation of attempted murder. (Caleb Hutton / The Herald)

Zachary Madding (right), 28, is accused of holding down his girlfriend at a Mukilteo motel to force Xanax down her throat and fentanyl into her nose. Police arrested him for investigation of attempted murder. (Caleb Hutton / The Herald)

Man allegedly tried to kill ex-girlfriend with opioid spray

The woman, 22, was revived by Mukilteo police with naloxone, which reverses overdoses.

MUKILTEO — An Everett man is accused of holding down his ex-girlfriend in a Mukilteo hotel, shoving crushed Xanax pills down her throat and forcing a fentanyl spray up her nose, in what police say was an attempted murder.

The woman escaped to alert others, but passed out from an apparent overdose Saturday morning. She survived.

At a court hearing Monday afternoon, bail was set at $500,000 for Zachary Lowell Madding, 28. He is in the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of attempted second-degree domestic violence murder.

Police believe Madding lured his ex-girlfriend to the hotel in the 9600 block of Harbour Place, with a ruse that her sister would meet her there, according to police reports filed in court.

Once she arrived, Madding reportedly wouldn’t let her leave the room, court papers say. She texted a friend in a panic, asking him to pick her up. Madding allegedly restrained the woman, pushed her to the floor and shoved down her throat a “handful of Xanax,” a drug that is used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. He sprayed the extremely potent opioid fentanyl into her nose about 15 times, she told police. She broke free.

Her friend had arrived at the front office. He was asking for the room number, when the woman ran to the front doors. She told him Madding was chasing her, and that he’d just forced crushed pills into her mouth. The friend rushed inside and told staff to call 911. Just then, Madding ran up behind the woman.

“Un-uh, (expletive), she’s not leaving!” he told the man, according to court papers.

Moments later the woman lost consciousness. Police arrived 45 seconds after the 911 call. The friend had wrapped his arms around Madding, to keep him from leaving. An officer detained him and demanded to know how much Xanax the woman had consumed, fearing she would die. At first Madding wouldn’t say, according to reports. He eventually said she’d taken fentanyl. An off-duty nurse felt the woman’s pulse was almost gone, according to the reports.

A Mukilteo police officer gave her two full doses of naloxone, an antidote for opiate overdoses. She awoke less than a minute later. She was able to tell police what happened in a hospital room at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

“I believe he was trying to kill me,” she told them.

Madding identified himself by a false first name, police wrote. Officers searched his clothes, and found two forged driver’s licenses from Illinois. They had his likeness on them, but a different name and a birthdate in 1995. Madding was born in 1989. He claimed he’d bought the fake IDs online. He reportedly told officers he used them to get motel rooms, because he had a warrant for his arrest. Officers asked how he’d arrived at the hotel. He said his friend’s Toyota Prius was parked outside. Police asked if the friend was nearby. He said no, court papers say. Officers suspect the “friend” was an alias to register the car.

Madding also was arrested for investigation of unlawful imprisonment, first-degree criminal impersonation and a Department of Corrections warrant.

Court records show he had a history of fraud and minor driving offenses in Alaska over the past decade, and he’d been convicted in a vehicular assault case in King County in 2015.

Madding’s ex-girlfriend told police he had been dealing drugs.

Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have been linked to an increase in overdoses in the past five years, because it is easy to underestimate their strength. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, fentanyl is 30 to 50 times as potent as heroin.

Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.

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.