FERNDALE - A homeless woman suspected of stabbing a rival girlfriend in the chest, puncturing her lung, was arrested early Friday, Feb. 22, hiding in the bathroom of a downtown Bellingham bar.
For five days Carrie Marie Brooks, 43, had been on the run from law after sheriff's deputies identified her as a suspect in the stabbing of another woman at a trailer park in the 700 block of West Axton Road.
Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo said the women were arguing about a boyfriend they had in common Sunday, Feb. 17, when Brooks attacked the 34-year-old victim with a folding knife that had a blade about five inches long. She suffered multiple stab wounds to her chest and hand.
Deputies tracked down Brooks early Friday hiding in the bathroom of the Wild Buffalo, 208 W. Holly St., Elfo said. She was arrested on suspicion of assault in the first degree.
Brooks has no felonies on her record in Washington state. Her most serious run-in with the law was a cocaine possession case in 2007. She pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
No update on the victim's condition was available Friday.
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.
