A 46-year-old Tacoma man died in the hospital after he was reportedly stabbed in Chehalis Monday evening.
A 12-year-old male was also treated at the hospital for lacerations but survived and was released.
The suspected assailant, Billy J. Bartlett, 30, of Amanda Park, has been arrested and booked on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree assault.
Chehalis police officers first responded to reports of a stabbing in the 600 block of North National Avenue at 7:47 p.m. on Dec. 20. Arriving officers found the victims, whose names have not yet been released, in a vehicle. Both victims were transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, according to a news release from the Chehalis Police Department.
Chehalis police officers, with help from officers with the Centralia Police Department, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol, were conducting a search of the area when, at approximately 8:38 p.m., officers received a call about a possible burglary in the 100 block of Northeast Boistfort Street. Officers responded and located Bartlett, who was later identified as the assailant in the two stabbings, according to the news release.
He was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 11:43 p.m. on Dec. 20, according to jail records.
This story will be updated as more information is released.
