A 20-year-old man was arrested on $1 million bail last week after being charged with stabbing his mother’s boyfriend with a box cutter at her Adams County home.
According to Pennsylvania State Police, Liam Owings entered his mother’s room “aggressively” around 9:10 p.m. on Wednesday at a trailer park on Old Harrisburg Road in Straban Township, just outside Gettysburg.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Owings did not speak while in his mother’s room, but he did appear to be mumbling or attempting to talk at times.
His mother’s boyfriend angrily informed Owings he was being impolite for barging into the bedroom, and Owings moved as if to strike him in the abdomen, according to the affidavit.
Owings was holding a box cutter, according to authorities.
“He stabbed me,” the boyfriend stated, hunched over and clutching his abdomen, according to court documents. She told officers she spotted blood and “stomach matter” on his clothes before locking her bedroom door and dialing 911.
According to the complaint, Owings put gauze and other medical supplies under the bedroom door while his mother and her partner waited for emergency authorities. They said Owings said nothing about the stabbing.
According to the affidavit, Owings’ mother told officers that her son had been exhibiting “abnormal behavior” over the past year, which could have been caused by schizophrenia or paranoia. Court filings stated that he had been on and off drugs during that time.
When police arrived, they discovered the victim’s clothes covered in blood and “food matter,” as well as the same substances on the walls and floor of the rest of the house. According to the affidavit, Owings’ clothing was discovered in the home’s bathroom, along with blood and food.
Owings was arrested at the scene, but he quickly requested counsel and refused to answer police inquiries, according to the affidavit. He was subsequently sent to Adams County Prison, where he has been incarcerated ever since.
According to investigators, the wounded man underwent surgery at WellSpan York Hospital and survived.
Police said they discovered the box cutter thought to have been used in the stabbing in Owings’ bedroom, along with a black gaming chair and Owings’ wallet, phone, and keys.
Owings faces two felony counts of aggravated assault and one misdemeanor charge of simple assault. A preliminary hearing is set on Wednesday before Magisterial District Judge Matthew Harvey.
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