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PD: Man kills stepfather, stabs mom in Tempe

Posted at 7:00 PM, Mar 04, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-05 09:44:26-05

A man was arrested Friday night after police say he stabbed his mother and stepfather.

The incident happened around 6:30 p.m. at the Garden Grove Apartment Complex near Grove Parkway and Kyrene Road.

Police say they were called to the complex for a welfare check. When officers arrived, they found the suspect, 27-year-old Blake Holten, stabbing the victims.

Holten jumped from a second-story window and fled the scene, but was located outside of the apartment complex, Officers used a TASER to take him into custody.

Authorities say both victims were transported to the hospital where the stepfather died from his injuries and the mother is currently in stable condition.

 

The stepfather has since been identified by police as 46-year-old Donovan Arneson from Iowa.

"I just heard screaming," said neighbor Maria "Lupe" Valencia.

Valencia told a former medical assistant, jumped into action, trying to help the two stabbing victims. "Stay here, look at me, I told them," said Valencia. "She was bleeding all the way down, and sitting on the floor." 

It was a dramatic scene that has some neighbors thinking about moving.

"Am I doing my job as a husband or should we think about relocating?" said Mark Arendse.

Police say reports indicate Holten was suffering from mental health and drug abuse issues.

Holten was taken to the hospital where he is getting treatment for injuries suffered from jumping out the window. He will be booked into jail on charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault and kidnapping.

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