MOAB, Utah, April 23, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Charging documents reveal more details about an incident that sent a 68-year-old woman to the hospital with multiple stab wounds to the chest and a suspect to the Grand County Jail.
An initial statement from the Moab City police on Saturday says two dog walkers, the victim and her 53-year-old male neighbor, were walking at about 7 a.m. Saturday on a pathway next to Mill Creek, in the area of 100 South and 200 West.
One or both of the dog walkers commented to a man starting a fire near the path that camping and starting fires within city limits was illegal.
The arrest report for 38-year-old suspect Alexander Michael Kensell picks up the account from there.
“AP (arrested party) then began to yell at them as they walked west from the fire location on the trail. AP then pursued victim 1 (the female) and victim 2 (the male), and began to use a conductive energy weapon (Taser) to shock/Tase V2 repeatedly all over his body and on his neck,” says the report, filed by an officer of the Moab City Police Department.
“V2 fell down and the AP turned to V1 and began to shock/Tase her as well. V1 used a stick to strike the AP but fell to the ground and the AP stood over V1 and used a knife to stab her repeatedly in the chest as she lay on the ground. V2 then used a stick to strike the AP and then attempted to lead the AP away from V1 and west of the area. AP chased V2 a short distance then discontinued chasing V2 and fled west into a field near the trail.”
Officers arrived and located Kensell a short distance to the west of the assault location, the affidavit says.
Kensell “was discovered to have a fixed blade knife and a conductive energy weapon in his front right pocket of his jacket in plain view. (He) was found to be a class 1 restricted person by being convicted of a violent felony out of Oklahoma and was in possession of two dangerous weapons that he used to attack V1 and V2.”
A search “uncovered approximately 24 grams of marijuana in the AP’s backpack that was in his possession at the time of arrest, and while in possession of two dangerous weapons. AP, by attacking and stabbing V1 repeatedly with a dangerous weapon known to cause death, took substantial steps toward the murder of V1. The offense of murder at this time is inchoate.”
The term “inchoate” is used to describe a crime begun but not completed.
The woman stabbed was transported to a local hospital, then flown to Utah Valley Medical Center for more intensive treatment. At last report, she was alive and in serious but stable condition.
The reporting officer said of Kensell, “AP has a history of assault with a dangerous weapon and is currently homeless. Given the behavior for this charge the AP poses a risk to others in the community because of his extreme and life threatening actions against two unarmed community members. AP is homeless and recently fled Oklahoma, where he had similar charges and is on probation, to come to Utah and is likely to flee the area if released and is likely to victimize others as he has done in both Oklahoma and Utah.”
Kensell was charged on suspicion of:
- Murder, a second-degree felony (attempted)
- Aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony
- Aggravated assault, a third-degree felony
- Two counts of transaction of a dangerous weapon by a class I restricted person, a third-degree felony
- Reckless burning, a class B misdemeanor
- Possession of controlled substances marijuana/spice, a class B misdemeanor
Kensell was ordered held in the Grand County Jail without bail.
The Saturday statement from the Moab Police Department praised the actions the male victim.
“His actions effectively kept the assailant away from his friend,” the news release says. “He has expressed the desire to remain anonymous and would request time to heal emotionally and deal with the trauma of this incident.”
