Whatcom man accused of attempted murder in weekend stabbing arrested Tuesday
A Maple Falls man who is accused of attempted first-degree murder in a weekend stabbing was arrested Tuesday afternoon.
Pavel Eduard Vasilchenko, 24, turned himself in around 2:30 p.m. on July 13, according to a Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office press release Tuesday afternoon. Deputies served two warrants on residences on Golden Valley Drive on Sunday, July 11, searching for Vasilchenko, but were not able to find him, the press release states.
The sheriff’s office had previously asked for the public’s help in locating Vasilchenko.
Vasilchenko has been charged with first-degree attempted murder in Whatcom County Superior Court for allegedly stabbing a man multiple times over the weekend who allegedly abused a child.
A second man, Donald Kelly Siguaw, 37, also was arrested in connection with the incident, court and jail records show. Siguaw was arrested July 11 on suspicion of felony harassment.
Shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 11, Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the Whatcom County Fire District 14 station in Kendall for the report of a stabbing. The victim was wounded several times in his upper arm and shoulder and taken to the emergency room at St. Joseph’s hospital before deputies arrived.
The victim was treated and later released, said a hospital spokesperson.
The victim’s girlfriend told deputies that Siguaw was threatening and harassing the victim. The woman said Siguaw believed the victim assaulted a child known to Siguaw and the woman, court records state.
The victim is currently being investigated by the Lake Stevens Police Department for allegedly assaulting the child, the sheriff’s office’s press release states.
On Saturday, the woman and the victim went to Maple Falls to help a friend clean up some property at 6100 block of Hawthorne Place, which shares a common property line with Siguaw’s land.
The woman told deputies that on Saturday night, July 10, Siguaw was sitting on the roof of his home and was yelling at the victim who was next door, according to court records.
Siguaw allegedly told the victim to leave, “calling him a child beater,” and said he “will be dead today,” court records show.
The victim’s girlfriend was told by a friend that Siguaw allegedly sent out “a horrific message” to several people claiming the victim abused a child. The victim’s girlfriend also was told someone may be coming to harm her and her boyfriend, so the pair left to get breakfast and a hotel room in Sumas, the court records state.
When the victim and his girlfriend returned to the Hawthorne Place property, Vasilchenko told them they needed to leave. A short time later, Vasilchenko returned and allegedly stabbed the man, court records show.
While in the emergency room, the victim told deputies he was in a car at the Hawthorne Place property when Vasilchenko began pounding on the window. When the victim got out of the car, Vasilchenko allegedly shoved the victim and yelled “leave or you’re dead,” the sheriff’s press release states.
The victim told deputies he was stabbed multiple times while trying to run away from Vasilchenko. The victim’s girlfriend told deputies she saw Vasilchenko chasing the victim with a knife. The girlfriend allegedly confronted Vasilchenko with a handgun she had and he ran to Siguaw’s house next door, the press release states.
Vasilchenko was reportedly friends with Siguaw, the court records state.
During an interview with detectives, Siguaw allegedly admitted to sitting on his roof and yelling at the couple. He said the pair were threatening him, and denied knowing that Vasilchenko stabbed the man.
Siguaw said he asked Vasilchenko to come to his house for protection from the people at the Hawthorne Place property, court records state.
A witness confirmed that Siguaw was yelling at the victim and his girlfriend.
Another witness showed deputies the message Siguaw allegedly sent about the victim abusing a child.
The witness allegedly told Siguaw that she would “assist in getting this person out of the area by any means necessary,” and that “this was a time when a person should be allowed to be judge and jury without repercussion,” the court records state.
The witness told deputies that several other people received Siguaw’s message and had similar feelings, the records show.
Another witness who spoke with a detective at the fire station said she also received the message from Siguaw and that the victim “deserved to get stabbed and made a point of coming to the fire hall to tell deputies this,” court records state.
Vasilchenko’s mother, who also received Siguaw’s message, said what the victim allegedly did to a child was “well known in the Maple Falls ‘grapevine’,” the records show.
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 4:47 PM.
