Suspect in North Bend stabbing, sexual assault released
Mar 19, 2014, 7:52 AM | Updated: 5:19 pm
A man arrested for the brutal sexual assault and stabbing of a woman in North Bend has been released after forensic testing ruled him out as a suspect.
Police arrested the 41-year-old man last week. He was scheduled to make a first appearance at a courtroom in the King County jail on Wednesday, but a judge ordered his release after DNA evidence cleared him in the attack.
“With any good policing we rely on the evidence and I’m happy that the DNA evidence was able to clear him,” said Capt. Nick Almquist, spokesman for the North Bend-Snoqualmie Police Department. “You can’t mess with science.”
Almquist said his detectives did a thorough investigation and made an arrest based on “overwhelming” probable cause, including the fact the victim mentioned the suspect by name.
The man was arrested Tuesday in connection with an attack at Jay Berry’s Gourmet Pizza and Pasta in North Bend just after closing time.
At the time of his arrest, Snoqualmie Police said the suspect knew the woman he was accused of attacking.
“Over the course of the years, he has, at some point, been an acquaintance, just as a co-worker, with the victim,” Almquist said.
The victim, a mother of two in her 30’s, was bound with duct tape, stabbed and then sexually assaulted.
The suspect’s family members refused to speak with reporters outside the jail.
Police will continue their investigation. Detectives have taken DNA swabs from 10 individuals, which will be sent to the state crime lab for analysis, Almquist said.
