SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Two men were arrested and charged after a man was beaten with a hammer early Tuesday morning, officials said.
John Tollefson, 50, and Eric Kaiser, 44, were charged with attempted first-degree murder and criminal conspiracy to commit first degree murder.
Spokane County Sheriff’s officials said the two men worked together to devise a plan to lure the victim out of his home and assault him. Authorities said the assault was due to the “contentious” ending of the relationship between Tollefson’s daughter and the victim.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to a home on North Edencrest Drive around 12:30 a.m. for a report of an assault. The caller said a man covered in blood was at his front porch. Deputies said the 22-year-old man was bleeding profusely from injuries to his head.
The victim told deputies he was at his home when he heard a knock on his front door. When he answered it, a man was standing on his front porch. The man told him he lost control of his car and slid into the victim’s car because of the icy roads. When the victim stepped outside, the suspect began hitting him in the head with a hammer. The fight continued through several nearby yards, ending with the victim taking the hammer away from the suspect and then hitting the suspect with it, deputies said.
The victim said he also pulled the suspect’s shirts off during the fight and also bit the suspect on the arm before he ran away. The victim said he started screaming for help and a neighbor came out to help him.
Deputies said while they were talking to the victim, a truck had driven by several times and the victim believed it might be involved. Deputies in the area located the truck and conducted a traffic stop.
The driver, later identified as Tollefson, said he had just left a family member’s home in the area where he had spent most of the day, authorities said. Tollefson said he knew the victim and was driving past after leaving his family member’s home. Officials said Tollefson told them he was “being nosey” due to his daughter’s past with the victim. Deputies said Tollefson could not be tied to the crime at that time and he was released after he declined to answer any more questions.
Authorities said the bloody hammer, the suspect’s shirts and other evidence was collected from the scene. The victim was taken to the hospital for his injuries.
During the investigation, detectives said they learned Tollefson had not been to the family member’s home in several days. Officials said deputies then went to his home on West Osage Way and learned Tollefson had been with Kaiser, who matched the assault suspect’s description, but neither were at the home at the time.
Authorities later said they went back to Tollefson’s home and both he and Kaiser came outside. Kaiser had a large injury to the top of his head, as well as scrapes and what appeared to be a bite mark on his arm.
Officials said both Kaiser and Tollefson were detained and later arrested. Kaiser was transported to the hospital for treatment before being booked into the Spokane County Jail.
Major Crimes Detectives believe Tollefson and Kaiser acted together to come up with a plan to lure the victim from his home where Kaiser ambushed him and hit him with a hammer.
Both suspects are expected to appear in court for first appearances Wednesday afternoon.