Man faces attempted murder, arson charges after woman stabbed 15-20 times in Olympia
A man accused of attempted murder and arson is being held in the Thurston County jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Olympia police arrested Darius Robert Smith, 25, on July 28 on suspicion of multiple crimes, including first-degree attempted murder and arson.
Smith is accused of stabbing a 44-year-old woman 15-20 times in the head, neck and torso, leaving her in critical condition, Police Lt. Paul Lower told The Olympian on Tuesday. The stabbing reportedly occurred during an argument at a home on the 2600 block of Tranquil Avenue Northwest in west Olympia. The woman was later stabilized at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia.
On July 29, Judge Carol Murphy found probable cause for several crimes and set the bail amount during a preliminary appearance hearing in Thurston County Superior Court. In doing so, Murphy determined the court could not otherwise be reasonably assured Smith would return to court and there existed a substantial danger he may commit a violent crime.
Murphy also barred Smith from contacting three residents from the home, including the woman who was stabbed multiple times.
On July 30, the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Smith with six counts.
- First-degree attempted murder while armed with a deadly weapon, domestic violence.
- First-degree assault, domestic violence, while armed with a deadly weapon.
- First-degree attempted arson, domestic violence.
- Unlawful imprisonment while armed with a deadly weapon, domestic violence.
- Second-degree assault domestic violence, while armed with a deadly weapon.
- Second-degree assault domestic violence, while armed with a deadly weapon.
Smith is due back in court on Aug. 12 for an arraignment hearing.
The investigation
Olympia officers responded to the home on Tranquil Avenue at 7:19 p.m. July 28. A person, presumed to be the woman who was later stabbed, called dispatch, saying she wanted another person, presumed to be Smith, escorted out.
The call cut out. In a subsequent call, the caller yelled and said the Smith was putting his hands on her.
A neighbor then called dispatch, saying there was a man inside the house with a knife.
When officers arrived, they tried to break in through the front door, but the door was locked. Before they could retrieve a door ram, Smith opened the front door.
Officers reported Smith appeared covered in blood. The officers ordered him to the ground. Smith complied and was placed in wrist restraints.
Officers found a woman covered in blood and with multiple stab wounds in the living room. She was conscious and breathing.
The officers immediately applied pressure to the woman’s wounds until medics arrived. As they did so, they heard a loud explosion coming from the kitchen.
The woman told the officers that Smith placed something wrapped in foil inside the microwave and turned it on.
When an officer checked the kitchen, they found an exploded can of butane lighter fluid inside an oven with a shattered glass window. The oven appeared to be turned on and set to 350 degrees.
Three of the woman’s family members were sitting at a living room table and eating. Two of them had cuts to their necks and were taken to a hospital for treatment. The statement describes them as adults with “severe developmental disabilities that prevented them from comprehending their injuries and the incident.”
After medics took over, the officers found a knife with blood on it in the upstairs laundry room.
A person who previously worked as a caregiver for the occupants in the home later arrived on scene. She told officers that the three people with disabilities were adopted siblings of the injured woman.
The former caregiver said the woman had been the primary caregiver and owner of the home since her parents died. She said she assisted with caretaking until July 15.
She said the woman met Smith on an online platform around July 4 and subsequently entered a dating relationship. Smith reportedly came to visit from Louisiana but had remained at the home since then.
The former caregiver said she quit because of Smith’s behavior and she was pregnant.
An officer later interviewed Smith. The statement includes a summary of what the officer interpreted from multiple conversations with Smith.
Smith told the officer that he moved from Louisiana to be with the woman he’s accused of stabbing.
He said their relationship became contentious recently. On July 28, he said they got into an argument and he threatened to kill himself by self-immolation.
He said he placed tinfoil in the microwave, which officers believe prompted the woman to believe he was attempting to burn the house down.
The woman told Smith to leave while holding a knife in a reverse grip. Smith allegedly called her derogatory names and wrestled the knife away from her. He said he blacked out and later realized he stabbed the woman.
He also noticed that two of the other occupants had stab wounds, but he did not recall inflicting them. He added he also cut his own neck in a suicide attempt during the incident.
Smith told the officer he lives with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and experiences dissociative episodes. At the time of the incident, he said he had been off his medications for about a month.
He described his own actions as “heinous” and expressed remorse. The statement notes he appeared to fully understand the “wrongness of his actions” and did not seem to be under the influence of any intoxicating substances.
Officers did not immediately interview the woman who was stabbed because her injuries required immediate surgery.
Notably, the statement says Smith called Olympia police on July 27. In that conversation, he described problems with an ex-partner and reported being suicidal.
He told an Olympia Crisis Response Unit that he planned to go to Michigan on July 29 and he would be safe for the night.
