Sterling Traven smiles during his arraignment on murder and assault charges in Kitsap County, Wash., on Feb. 21, 2023. (Image via screengrab/KOMO)
A Washington state man smiled wide during his arraignment on murder and assault charges on Tuesday.
Sterling Traven, 29, is accused of a knife attack on multiple people at an addiction recovery home on Sunday in Kitsap County, Washington, in the Puget Sound area.
Four people were stabbed, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office. Two of the victims died, authorities said. Two others suffered serious, life-threatening injuries in the attack.
According to the KCSO, 911 callers said multiple people had been stabbed and the assailant was still inside the residence.
The home is a residence for people recovering from addiction, the sheriff's office said. The callers got out and provided authorities with a detailed description of the suspect.
"Deputies responded and arrived in the area within four minutes," according to the KCSO. "As Deputies and a [Washington State Police] Trooper approached the home on foot, they heard a noise and located the suspect crawling away in the brush near the home, still holding a butcher knife. The Deputy and Trooper were able to detain the suspect immediately without incident."
The suspect, from Bellevue, was hospitalized for minor injuries, the sheriff's office said. He was then booked into the Kitsap County Jail on two counts of murder in the first degree and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon in the first degree.
Bail was set at $4 million, according to Seattle-based ABC affiliate KOMO.
"I'm finding that bail is appropriate due to the risk of failure to appear and substantial risk of violence in the community," the judge said.
The suspect pleaded not guilty to each of the four charges against him, the TV station reported, after the judge ordered him confined during the proceedings.
"I find that shackling is appropriate given the information provided by corrections staff," Adams reportedly said.
According to court documents obtained by KOMO, the suspect allegedly used drugs at the time of the violence. He allegedly grabbed a knife from the kitchen and attacked people because he believed they were "surveilling and recording him without his consent."
In an interview with the TV station, Lt. Ken Dickinson offered an account of the crime scene.
"They made entry into the home and found a gruesome scene where four people had been stabbed repeatedly by this person," the deputy said.
The sheriff's office said a 51-year-old man and a woman died from their wounds. Two others were airlifted to a nearby hospital. The victims were not identified.
"The female who was killed, unfortunately, did not live in the house. She was here visiting somebody," Dickinson said. "The great mystery is, 'Why? Why did he do this?'"
