Second suspect arrested Friday in Bellingham stabbing death
A 29-year-old Ferndale man was arrested Friday, April 24, for being an alleged accomplice in the stabbing death of a 57-year-old Bellingham man.
Zachary Ivan Tellez was booked on suspicion of first-degree murder and first-degree burglary at 5:15 p.m. Friday, according to Whatcom County Jail records.
Tellez is alleged to have been with Kali Marie McConnell, 33, when she allegedly stabbed her father to death and assaulted another woman. McConnell, who is accused of first-degree murder and second-degree assault, had her bail set at $1 million Friday in Whatcom County Superior Court.
Formal charges for McConnell are expected next week. Her arraignment has been scheduled for May 1.
Shortly before 10 p.m. on April 22, Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence in the 4700 block of Mission Road for the report of a man who had been stabbed. Deputies found a 57-year-old man who had suffered a life-threatening stab wound to the upper torso. He was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph’s hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery, according to a sheriff’s press release on the incident.
The man, whose name the sheriff’s office has not yet released, died Thursday, April 23, around 5:40 p.m. at the hospital after succumbing to his injuries, the release states. An autopsy by the Whatcom County Medical Examiner is scheduled for Monday.
Detectives determined that the man’s daughter, identified as McConnell, and her male friend, identified as Tellez, went to the Mission Road residence for a visit around 9:45 p.m. on April 22. During the visit, an argument between Tellez and McConnell’s father began, the release states.
McConnell also allegedly assaulted a 53-year-old woman who also lived at her father’s residence. She allegedly punched the woman in the face, which knocked her tooth out, and then dragged her by her hair out of the residence and told her to leave, the press release states. McConnell also allegedly stole the woman’s phone, then went back inside the residence and allegedly stabbed her father once in the upper torso, according to the release.
Less than 10 minutes after they arrived, McConnell and Tellez fled the scene. Once McConnell and Tellez left, the female victim went back inside the residence and found McConnell’s father “in a pool of blood, asking for help and stating that his daughter had stabbed him,” the press release states.
On Thursday afternoon, Tellez was found in Whatcom County and voluntarily went to the sheriff’s office where he was questioned about the incident. Tellez was later released, the press release states.
McConnell was arrested later Thursday without incident at a residence in Arlington. The vehicle she was driving was also found at the Arlington residence and was impounded by the sheriff’s office to be searched later, the release states.
During an interview with the sheriff’s office, McConnell allegedly admitted to stabbing her father during the argument.
In court Friday for McConnell’s first appearance, Whatcom County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Evan Jones said he expected to charge Tellez with first-degree murder as a co-defendant in the case.
At the time of the alleged murder, McConnell was out on $5,000 bail for a mid-March case in which she allegedly went to her ex-boyfriend’s home and assaulted him and a female friend, court records show.
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 6:28 PM.
