DARRINGTON — She woke with a burning feeling.
An intruder had broken into the woman’s bedroom and sprayed insecticide in her face. She recognized the person as her son’s former girlfriend.
This wasn’t the first uninvited visit.
The victim, 49, and her husband live at a motel in Darrington where they also work. Their son had previously dated the 29-year-old suspect. At one point, the couple briefly lived together at the motel, according to a probable cause affidavit.
They since have split.
The first time the suspect unexpectedly stopped by the motel was Feb. 20, according to court papers. It had been more than a month since she last came around.
The family told her she was not welcome. A Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy warned that if she returned, she could be arrested for trespassing.
Two days later, she reportedly was back with a can of Raid insecticide, commonly used to kill ants and cockroaches. The same deputy arrested her Feb. 22 on suspicion of burglary and assault.
She reportedly broke into the motel’s office about 10:30 a.m., taking an iPad and keys to a car, police said. Paperwork was pulled out of drawers and strewn throughout the room.
In a nearby bedroom her former boyfriend’s mother was asleep. That is where the attack reportedly happened.
The woman fought the suspect, pushing her into the hallway.
Screams and scuffling woke the victim’s husband. He went to the front porch to call police. The suspect followed him outside and reportedly took a swing at him with a butter knife.
He ran across the street. When he turned back, the suspect was climbing into his car where the iPad and keys were later recovered, police said.
A few minutes passed while the man spoke with 911 dispatchers. He watched the suspect get out of the car, pick up a rock the size of a grapefruit and bang it against the motel’s glass door. The female victim had locked the door, and the suspect wanted back in.
Instead of breaking the glass, the rock left a nick.
A deputy pulled up in his car as the suspect grabbed the can of bug spray. He told her to drop it.
“No, I don’t have to,” she said as she began chasing after her ex-boyfriend’s father.
The deputy used his electronic stun gun to stop her, according to court papers.
During her arrest, he pulled a small candle that belonged in the motel from her pocket. He returned it to the family and collected the butter knife, rock and bug spray as evidence.
Caitlin Tompkins: 425-339-3192; ctompkins@heraldnet.com.
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