Key Peninsula stabbing suspect tells police he was ‘no longer a person’ during 2022 traffic stop

Authorities investigating the fatal stabbing of four people on Washington’s Key Peninsula are examining prior encounters between the suspect and law enforcement, including a 2022 traffic stop that showed what officials described as unusual behavior.

KIRO Newsradio obtained officer body camera video of the stop through a public records request.

Body cam video shows suspect telling officers he was ‘no longer a person.’

The footage shows 32-year-old Aleksandr Shablykin sitting in the driver’s seat of a car, during the day, as officers instructed him not drive the vehicle because, the officers claimed on the video, he did not have a driver’s license.

“You don’t have the right to operate a motorized vehicle within the state of Washington, on the streets, if you are not licensed,” an officer is heard telling Shablykin during the stop. “Okay, so listen to me. I understand what you’re doing. I understand what you believe and what not. But I’m telling you, under the laws of the state of Washington, you are not allowed.”

“I have paperwork and documented, notarized and thumb-printed, that I am no longer a person, okay, or a human, okay? I am operating under the sole jurisdiction as a living man,” replied Shablykin, who appeared to claim to officers he was a sovereign citizen and not a citizen of Washington or the U.S. “Listen, you can go and tell the courts that. You can tell the judge and that corporation that the court works for the United States, which is a federal corporation. As long as you’re wearing that uniform, you’re working for a corporation. So right now you’re harassing.”

“Okay, you believe what you want,” an officer replied. “Don’t operate this vehicle on the streets, I’m telling you right now, you’re going to go to jail.”

“Well, that’s more harassment,” Shablykin said. “It’s going to be harassment in jail.”

Seconds later, Shablykin seemed to threaten the officers and told them, “Listen, do you know how much I’m worth?”

“I don’t care how much you’re worth,” replied an officer.

“Because it’s going to come out of your paycheck. Yes, it will document. Yes. You want to find out?” Shablykin continued before confirming the officers were then leaving the scene. “You’re leaving now. Yes, have a good day. Thank you.”

The full interaction between Shablykin and officers during the 2022 traffic stop is available above.

Suspect shot, killed by deputies after stabbing 4 people near Gig Harbor

Last week, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office deputies shot and killed Shablykin while responding to a disturbance at a home near Gig Harbor on the Key Peninsula. Deputies had been called to the residence after reports that Shablykin was violating a protective order, authorities said.

Investigators said Shablykin stabbed four people as deputies were responding to the original call Tuesday morning. Three victims were found dead at the home in the 14017 block of 87th Avenue Court N.W., according to the sheriff’s office. A fourth victim was taken to a nearby hospital with significant injuries but later died despite life-saving efforts by paramedics.

Court documents allege Shablykin had been threatening family members prior to the attack, at one point claiming he was an “Egyptian God.” Records also state he had dug a grave for the mother of one of the victims before the stabbings.

Family members had previously sought a protective order against Shablykin, describing him in court filings as abusive and mentally unstable.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victims as:

• Zoya Anatolyevna Shabliykina, 52
• Joanne Kathleen Brandani, 59
• Stephanie Killilea, 67
• Louise Sandra Talley, 81

A vigil was held for all four victims on Wednesday night in Gig Harbor.

A fundraising campaign has been launched to help cover grief and trauma counseling costs for the 11-year-old granddaughter of the victim, Zoya Shablykina. According to a GoFundMe page, the granddaughter, Anna, will use the money for private counseling.

“It’s been very traumatizing for her,” Robert Knowles, the partner of Anna’s mother, Anastasiya, told KIRO Newsradio as he described Anna’s relationship with her uncle, and suspect, Shablykin. “She and her uncle had a tight relationship. He never judged her, and she always felt really safe and comfortable with him and would talk to him a lot.”

Knowles also shared that Anastasiya and Anna noticed a change in Shablykin’s behavior last Spring.

“Anna was there with he mom last April, and they witnessed how far gone he was,” Knowles said. “I didn’t.”

Relatives say they sought help but encountered obstacles in mental health system

In the months leading up to the stabbings, Knowles said Shablykin was homeless and living in a tent that he’d planted, with permission, in Knowles and other family members’ back yards.

In a statement released by Shablykin’s family on March 3, relatives said they had spent years trying to navigate the challenges surrounding Shablykin’s severe mental health struggles. According to the statement, Aleksandr Shablykin had been battling bipolar disorder and had recently stopped taking medication before the attack.

The family said they had sought help but encountered obstacles within the mental health care system and a lack of professional intervention resources during the crisis.

They also pointed to a 52-minute wait for authorities to respond during the incident, calling it an example of broader systemic challenges families face when trying to obtain assistance during mental health emergencies.

Even then, Knowles said nobody thought Shablykin’s apparently diminishing mental state would ever lead to such a violent act.

Instead, Knowles said the family wants people to remember Shabliykina for the life she lived rather than the circumstances of her death. They said her loss has devastated their family and the wider Puget Sound region.

Knowles shared that Shabliykina immigrated to the U.S. from Siberia, where her family once survived on $15 every month. What they didn’t have in money, however, she made up for in the love and caring of her children and grandchildren.

“She stretched a dollar, and those kids never went without,” Knowles shared. “Presents on Christmas, birthdays, they were always fed, always had clothes.”

Knowles said Shabliykina also regularly sent care packages to families overseas.

“She would get stuff, pack it up, and send it to Russia and also Ukraine,” Knowles said. “She paid the postage with her own money. She was very generous and very thrifty and very crafty.”

Shablykina’s relatives expressed gratitude for the support they have received from neighbors and extended family members, including Shablykina’s mother, Luba, who traveled from Kentucky to be with the family after the killings.

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