BELLINGHAM - A 21-year-old man has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of a teenager at a Bellingham house party.
Prosecutors provided new details this week about what led up to the altercation last week that left Davonte Thompson, 17, dead and his 18-year-old brother Brandon Thompson with a gash to his head.
But some crucial questions remain about what happened in the moments before Geoff Kyle Spain, one of the party's hosts, allegedly stabbed the brothers in the early morning hours of Saturday, Feb. 9.
In charging documents, prosecutors allege at 2 a.m., Spain was "trying to pull up a traffic stop sign without success near the base of his driveway (at 513 Samish Way). He then started putting branches in the roadway blocking traffic. This halted the flow of traffic in the area and the cars leaving the party area. People observed that the Defendant was yelling and appeared under the influence.
"Immediately after this, the Defendant was observed with a knife and Devante (sic) Thompson was observed being stabbed at repeatedly by at least one witness. Other witnesses saw the defendant with the knife and Devante kneeling bent over on the ground bleeding. Devante was then placed in a car and transported to the hospital."
Davonte died in surgery six hours later. An autopsy revealed the blade punctured his heart and right lung. Brandon left St. Joseph hospital before his treatment was complete, police said.
It's unclear what transpired between the Thompson brothers and Spain. The charges don't say. Instead, they note police are still investigating and tracking down witnesses. The prosecutor in the case, Mac Setter, didn't return a call Friday afternoon seeking comment. Spain's defense attorney, Jeffrey Lustick, declined to give Spain's side of the story when contacted Friday.
Police arrived at the stabbing scene after Davonte was taken to the hospital. They were interviewing witnesses when Spain walked through the door of his home wearing a muddy, bloodstained basketball jersey, according to the charges.
He ran. When police caught him, they noted he had scratches from blackberry brambles but no other obvious injuries.
A black folding knife - a weapon Spain was known to carry - was recovered near the pool of blood. And the sheath of another knife owned by Spain was found in the woods.
Spain was being held in Whatcom County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. He's accused of second-degree murder and first-degree assault.
Anyone with tips is asked to contact Detective Dan Kelsh at 360-778-8690 or the police tipline at 360-778-8611. Anonymous tips can be made online at cob.org; enter "tipline" in the search box.
Reach Caleb Hutton at 360-715-2276 or caleb.hutton@bellinghamherald.com. Read his dispatcher blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/dispatcher or follow him on Twitter at @bhamcrime.
