Alleged stabber thought man was 'the devil'
Sep. 8—A 29-year-old California woman arrested Wednesday for allegedly stabbing a couple on Pullman's College Hill thought one of the victims was the "devil," according to the probable cause affidavit.
Tiffany Dennison was taken to Whitman County Jail on charges of attempted second-degree murder, second-degree assault and having weapons apparently capable of producing bodily harm.
Pullman police responded to a report of a stabbing around 9 a.m. on the 1300 block of NE Williams Drive.
Samantha Branch told Whitman County Dispatch that her boyfriend, Hunter Degler, had been stabbed in the back by a woman.
Pullman Police Officer Alex Gordon wrote in his probable cause affidavit that when he and another officer arrived at the apartment, they saw Degler with a "significant" amount of blood on the back of his white tank top.
Police allegedly saw Dennison holding an 8-12-inch, chef-style knife and making slicing and poking motions toward Degler. Branch was allegedly pulling at Dennison's arms from behind to keep her from Degler.
Gordon used his Taser on Dennison and she dropped her knife to the ground. Dennison was then handcuffed and placed under arrest.
Degler suffered a punctured lung, but the knife had narrowly missed major arteries in his back, the probable cause affidavit says. He was taken to Pullman Regional Hospital.
Degler is the primary caregiver for a toddler child that lives in the residence, the probable cause affidavit says. Branch allegedly told police that Dennison stabbed Degler because she thought he was the devil.
"Dennison told him that she had stabbed because she could not let the child ... be raised by the Devil," the affidavit states.
When Dennison tried to assault Degler further, Branch tried to defend him using a baby gate as a shield, the probable cause affidavit says. She was treated for non-life-threatening injuries to her hands.
Dennison does not have a known criminal history.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
