SPOKANE, Wash. — Police believe that one suspect is responsible for three stabbings that took place within an hour of each other in downtown Spokane, court documents show.
Joseph W. Murray is suspected of stabbing a man and woman near the Convention Center in downtown Spokane on Tuesday, Oct. 30, and then one hour later stabbing a man in front of the Union Gospel Mission on East Trent Avenue.
Murray was arrested for first degree assault on Tuesday. He is in the Spokane County Jail and his bond has been set at $10,000.
Accurate witness descriptions helped police locate Murray, according to a search warrant filed in Spokane County Superior Court on Friday.
Stabbings near courthouse
On Tuesday at 3:39 p.m., a Spokane police corporal was downtown near Browne Street and Spokane Falls Boulevard when a victim, Michael J. Reum Hallock, said he had been stabbed. Hallock was taken to the hospital with a collapsed lung, according to court documents.
Shortly after, a police officer talked to a second victim, Makayla L. Goozmer, who said she had a stab wound to her left arm which required stitches, according to court documents.
Goozmer said she had been walking near the Spokane Convention Center at 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. when she and Hallock were attacked by a man neither of them knew.
She described the suspect as Caucasian, thin, about 5'9'' tall and carrying a pink backpack. She also said the knife was about eight inches long, according to court documents.
Two witnesses in the area gave varying physical descriptions of the suspect. Officers then obtained video surveillance from the Convention Center, which captured a majority of the incident.
Stabbing near Union Gospel Mission
About an hour later, Spokane Police then received a call about a stabbing on Trent Avenue near the Union Gospel Mission in east central Spokane. When they arrived, police found the victim, Jimmie E. Bailey, with life-threatening injuries.
Witnesses in the area chased the suspect to a white Toyota 4-Runner parked nearby, according to court documents. The suspect then fled driving down Trent Avenue toward Hamilton Street. More than one witness saw a Utah license plate on the vehicle.
Union Gospel Mission staff were able to locate the vehicle in their system as one associated with Joseph Murray, according to court documents. Staff provided officers with a photo of Murray.
According to court documents, officers were able to find the white Toyota 4-Runner a short time later at the Zip Trip at 1503 E. Illinois Avenue and detain Murray.
Officers saw dried blood on Murray's hands and pants, court documents said. He also had bloody paper towels in his pockets. Officers also saw a pink backpack in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.
The vehicle was seized as evidence pending the issuance of a search warrant, according to court documents.
Officers took two witnesses to the location of Murray's arrest. One said they were 100 percent certain Murray was the person who stabbed Bailey and another said he was 75 percent certain and said he recognized Bailey's glasses.
According to court documents, Murray had an incision on the inside of one of his fingers and an injury on the side of his right thumb. Both injuries were consistent with a violent confrontation involving a sharp instrument.
According to court documents, a search warrant was issued to collect swabs from Murray.
Three more stabbings this month in Spokane
Three other stabbings took place in Spokane over the course of 10 days this October.
On Oct. 21, a man was stabbed near the intersection of Sprague Avenue and Washington Street. He was taken to a nearby hospital and expected to survive. Police have not named a suspect in that stabbing.
On Oct. 23, a man was fatally stabbed at the downtown Spokane 7-Eleven. A 29-year-old suspect was arrested for first-degree murder. Police said the suspect used a machete to stab the victim to death.
On Oct. 28, an off duty firefighter found a man who had been stabbed on the 1600 block of East Sprague.
