-- Grab EHS RSS FeedStabbing Follows Spraying for Bedbugs and Attack with 2 Vacuums and a Stool
A Lafayette man stabbed his roommate Saturday evening after an argument escalated into a physical fight while they were spraying for bedbugs, court documents allege.
Jeffrey Hale Ringen, 50, was charged Monday in Tippecanoe Circuit Court with battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Class C felony; criminal recklessness while armed with a deadly weapon, a Class D felony; and misdemeanor battery.
He was being held Monday afternoon in the Tippecanoe County Jail on a $10,000 surety bond, jail staff confirmed.
The victim, Timothy Murry, suffered stab wounds to his left hand and forearm, along with minor injuries to his lip and elbows.
He was treated at St. Elizabeth Central hospital and released, a hospital spokeswoman said Monday.
The incident took place about 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the 1400 block of Elizabeth Street.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Murry told officers that he and Ringen were spraying pesticides to kill bedbugs in their home.
But Murry refused to continue after Ringen cut himself and got blood on the sprayer while trying to remove a plastic piece from it.
This led to a fight in which Murry claimed that Ringen attacked him with two vacuums and a stool, then retrieved a hunting knife. Murry said the knife was aimed at his abdomen, but he managed to block the knife with his arm.
Ringen, however, claimed it was Murry who “jumped” on him, so he reciprocated. He admitted to grabbing a baseball bat to chase Murry from the home but denied stabbing him.
Officers found a knife, with what appeared to be spots of blood on the blade and handle, in a drawer. Ringen said he “might have” put the knife there.
George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist
