By Polly Keary, Editor
A Monroe woman died Sunday of wounds sustained in a brutal knife attack on a busy Monroe street corner outside the health business she owned with her husband on Friday, May 24.
Her husband was motivated by jealousy when he stabbed his wife, police believe.
Oscar Garcia-Pacheco, 32, was arrested at about 8 p.m. that evening after witnesses saw him attack his wife, 34, with a knife outside their business, Heath is Wealth, an Herbalife products store in downtown Monroe.
Garcia agreed later to tell police about the events of that evening.
According to court documents, Garcia intimated that his marriage had been rocky since at least 2003. He said that six weeks prior to the attack, he'd become convinced his wife was unfaithful. Earlier in the day Friday, he decided, he said, to kill her and then himself.
He stopped at a Monroe store and bought a butcher-style knife, then drove to their business near the corner of Lewis and Main Streets. His wife wasn't there at the time, but then arrived with a customer. Garcia hid the knife, walked over to the car, and stabbed his wife several times, he said. Garcia stated that he didn't think he'd penetrated anything but her clothes. He stabbed her several times once she was lying on the ground, and then fled.
People were in pursuit, and he ran to a point near the post office, then decided to kill himself, as well. As police closed in, he held the knife to his own throat and told police to shoot him, and said that he wanted to die. Police said they weren't going to shoot, so he prepared to cut his own throat when "he was shot in the stomach with something by police," according to his statement.
He said he couldn't remember anything past that point.
Garcia's wife, at the time of the arrest, was not expected to survive. She had sustained deep stab wounds in the chest, both arms and the abdomen, and had to have emergency surgery. She also showed a lack of brain activity. She remained at Harborview until Sunday, when she succumbed to her injuries.
According to other accounts of the crime, Garcia actually had gone into the business and had become disruptive and angry, and Mrs. Garcia walked out to her car to get a protection order that she'd gotten from the court. She planned to serve the papers on him, but he followed her to the car and assaulted her there.
Police also say that Garcia threatened to take not only his own life, but those of law enforcement officials, as well. Because of the presence of bystanders, police elected not to shoot, but rather to use a taser to bring Garcia down.
He was badly injured in the ensuing struggle, and was himself hospitalized for several days, where he also had surgery. Two days after he was hospitalized, police were notified that he was awake and talking. At that time, he refused to discuss the matter, but the following day, he asked to speak to police.
Wednesday, he recounted his version of events.
He was released that day into the custody of the Snohomish County Jail.
Last week he was charged with attempted murder, but the prosecutor is considering what to charge in light of the woman's death.
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