Charges: Woman Stabbed 36 Times After Southern Minnesota Pursuit
Mankato, MN (KROC-AM News)- Court documents are revealing more information regarding a vehicle pursuit and stabbing in the Mankato area on Tuesday afternoon.
The criminal complaint filed in Blue Earth County Court on Thursday says Mankato area authorities began pursuing the vehicle after a family member of the driver reported him driving on a sidewalk and using meth. Authorities then began receiving driving complaints and followed the vehicle out of Mankato until having to terminate the pursuit due to the suspect’s driving conduct.
A short time later law enforcement again spotted the vehicle driving on sidewalks, through yards and in the wrong lanes on roads divided by a median. At one point, a pursuing officer rushed children on a school playground back indoors as the suspect vehicle was approaching, the charges say.
Officers also reported seeing numerous pedestrians and bicyclists along the pursuit route. The driver was also seen with what appeared to be a knife in his mouth during the chase, court documents say.
The suspect vehicle then went down a dead-end road and law enforcement leaders ordered pursuing officers to take out the vehicle. An officer then rammed into the suspect vehicle, causing it to flip on its side and come to rest, the complaint says.
Authorities then approached the vehicle with their weapons drawn. A woman exited the vehicle and was described to be covered in blood. She collapsed as she walked towards officers, who reported seeing her with multiple stab wounds, according to the charges.
The woman told law enforcement the driver had slit her throat and that she had been injured by the driver after the crash. She then stopped answering law enforcement’s questions and was rushed to an ambulance that transported her to a hospital. While at the hospital, it was determined the victim had suffered 36 stab wounds, six of which the complaint described as life-threatening.
Officers continued to attempt to get the driver out of the vehicle and he complied after sometime. The charges identify the driver as 32-year-old Dustin Lee Murilla of Good Thunder, MN.
Murilla was taken to the hospital after the pursuit-ending crash. The officer who ended the chase was also treated and released at the hospital.
Authorities reported finding a knife and blood spots inside of the vehicle. Murilla is charged with first and second-degree attempted murder, felony kidnapping, first-degree assault and felony fleeing.
A Blue Earth County judge set Murilla's conditional bail at $1,000,000 on Friday. A court filing indicates prosecutors intend to seek an upward sentencing departure if Murilla is convicted.
Court records indicate Murilla was serving the supervised release portion of a 15-year sentence for a 2nd-degree attempted murder conviction in 2013. He was also convicted of second-degree assault in 2009.
The BCA is assisting local investigators in the case.