TACOMA, Wash. — The man accused of stabbing a woman in an unprovoked attack at Tacoma's Point Defiance Park was found competent to stand trial Thursday.
At the hearing, 28-year-old Nicholas Matthew was arraigned on the charge of attempted first-degree murder and his bail was set at $2 million, according to the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office. His next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 25.
Earlier this year, Matthew was found not competent to stand trial and a forensic evaluation concluded he showed "symptoms consistent with Schizoaffective Disorder." After that May hearing, he was placed in the custody of the Department of Social and Health Services and transferred to Western State Hospital for treatment.
On the afternoon of Feb. 10, Tacoma Police Department officers were called to the park and found a woman with multiple stab wounds. Detectives identified the attacker as Matthew and spent nearly seven weeks tracking him down - the manhunt almost ended overseas.
Court documents say detectives learned Matthew was in Georgia, but when they arrived, they found out that he was on a flight to San Francisco, hoping to flee the country.
Law enforcement officers were waiting to arrest him at the San Francisco airport before he was able to leave the country.
The survivor of the attack suffered several stab wounds, including some to the neck and face. She also suffered a skull fracture and had to receive over 120 staples in her skull, neck and upper back. The attack happened in broad daylight in a heavily-populated area of the park.
