Details emerge about fatal struggle between homeowners, intruder in North Bend

We know more about the intruder fatally stabbed inside a North Bend home earlier this week, but the description we have of his life makes it even more of a mystery as to why he would break into someone’s home.

The man fatally stabbed was 48-year-old Kenneth Boonstra, who also lived North Bend.

King County Sheriff’s Sergeant Katie Larson told KIRO Radio, “We’re confident that he is the same man that broke into this house 12 hours earlier and assaulted and robbed the wife.” Authorities are still waiting on DNA testing for positive confirmation.

Boonstra has no criminal history the sheriff’s office is aware of, so there’s nothing to indicate why the man broke into the house of Kyle and Tennyson Jacobson twice in 24 hours – on Mother’s Day and again early Monday morning.

According to Larson, the first time Boonstra broke in, Tennyson was in her home when the Boonstra came in through an unlocked back door. He grabbed her by the back of her hair and demanded money, which he took from her purse.

About 12 hours later Tennyson is home, this time with her husband, child and mother in the house. Their dog started barking, so her husband, got up thinking he needed to let the dog out.

Kyle Jacobson was prepared as he walked toward the front door to let the dog out. Larson said that because of what happened earlier in the day he had a can of wasp spray with him and a baseball bat. He walked to the front door when he saw the suspect standing down the hallway. The suspect runs at the homeowner and the fight was on.

“This, frankly, is a fight for life,” described Larson.

The husband and wife wrestled with the suspect, sprayed him with the can of wasp spray – which had no effect, and, they’ve got the baseball bat.

“He’s using the baseball bat to defend himself from the suspect [and] the bat ends up breaking during the struggle,” said Larson.

Kyle was still trying to control the suspect, as he’s having difficulty, he asked for his wife to help. Tennyson went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife, and stabbed Boonstra.

He died at the scene.

The Seattle Times dug into Boonstra’s background: He was a divorced father of five. He had a job, a house and no criminal record, save a couple of traffic citations.

“The couple in this house were victims,” said Larson. “[Kyle and Tennyson Jacobson] did not know this man. We have no connection there at this point.”

That includes no motive for the two break-ins.

Investigators found a roll of duct tape was inside the Jacobson’s home. They’re conducting tests on it now to determine if Boonstra brought the tape with him or if he found it somewhere in the home.

Larson said there’s no way to know whether his motive was to commit a second robbery or something else.

BY Linda Thomas, with MyNorthwest.com staff