The man who is accused of brutally stabbing a woman at Point Defiance Park in February made his first court appearance Thursday in Pierce County following his extradition from California.
Nicholas Matthew 27, was booked into Pierce County Jail on Wednesday and is facing one count of first-degree attempted murder, court records show. He was arrested as a fugitive from justice at the San Francisco International Airport after attempting to flee the country in March.
At Thursday's arraignment, he was ordered held without bail until a hearing could be held to evaluate his mental health and competency to stand trial.
The victim, who was referred to as "Jane" in order to protect her identity, said she was stabbed several times by an unknown man while walking down the park's trail. Bystanders heard her screams and intervened. The suspect then ran off.
Jane said in a news conference at Tacoma Police Department headquarters on Feb. 21 that the man said he was going to kill her and she needed to "meet her maker."
Extra security measures have been in place since the attack at Point Defiance Park, including additional portable cameras, according to Shon Sylvia, executive director of Metro Parks Tacoma in a News Tribune Op-Ed.
Matthew was linked to the stabbing after detectives collected DNA from Jane's clothing. A blood stain that was entered into the Combined DNA Index System matched with Matthew.
Detectives say they also found evidence in Matthew's vacated apartment. A sweatshirt that had dried blood on it and two knives that resembled what was used during the attack were found. One of the knives appeared to have smeared dried blood on it, prosecutors wrote in charging documents.
Matthew's yellow 2014 Chevrolet Spark was allegedly seen on security footage near the park prior to the attack. It was also seen driving away on Pearl Street following the incident, prosecutors wrote.
Matthew was arrested March 20 at the San Francisco airport, where investigators believe he was trying to flee the country. Initially, investigators learned that Matthew flew to Atlanta and tried to arrest him then. However, he had left Georgia, a News Tribune story reported.
Tacoma police, federal marshals and the San Francisco Police Department intercepted Matthew at the airport as he was on a layover between Atlanta and his foreign destination.
Before his extradition to Washington, Matthew was in custody at San Mateo County Jail.
Matthew is an Army veteran and served as a computer/detection systems repairer from August 2015 to June 2018, according to the Army's public affairs office at the Pentagon.
Matthew had no deployments and held the rank of specialist at the end of his service. Matthew has no prior criminal convictions in Washington State.
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