Marion County, Tenn., authorities are seeking an attacker who claimed to be a Jehovah’s Witness and then stabbed a woman multiple times, detectives say.
The weapon, described as a heavy, 6-inch steak knife, still was embedded in the woman’s body “all the way to the handle” when she was airlifted to Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga on Friday, Marion County Sheriff’s Office Chief Detective Gene Hargis said.
Investigators are looking for a dark-haired man with a dark complexion, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing about 200 pounds with a “scruffy” beard, Hargis said. The man is said to have “bad teeth” and last was seen wearing a dark shirt, khaki pants and a red baseball cap, he said.
On Friday afternoon, the attacker started “talking religious jargon and [the victim] basically told him she wasn’t interested and tried to shut the door, and that’s when he kicked the door and came in on her,” Hargis said.
Hargis said the victim, a 34-year-old woman who was at the home of an acquaintance off Alvin York Highway, was stabbed in her abdomen, groin, chest and face at about 2 p.m. CDT Friday. The woman was able to phone for help after the man ran away, he said.
Sheriff Ronnie “Bo” Burnett said that, according to investigators, there’s no evidence that anything was taken from the victim or the residence.
Burnett said investigators have not confirmed any reports of suspicious vehicles in the area. Hargis noted that the attacker could have had a vehicle of some kind nearby.
The woman, who still was being treated at Erlanger on Monday, could be released soon, Hargis said.
Anyone with any information about the attacker is asked to call Hargis or Detective Beth Schindel at 423-942-2525.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@times freepress.com or 423-757-6569.