Culver woman charged in Madras motel stabbing

A 47-year-old Culver woman has been charged with attempted murder and other charges in connection with Monday’s stabbing of a 48-year-old Madras man at the Juniper Motel, Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins said Tuesday.

Laura Patricia Alvarez already had been arrested Monday evening on unrelated charges and was in the county jail, Adkins said. She now is charged with attempted murder, second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon, with bail set at $315,000, he said.

Adkins said the Alvarez allegedly confessed to the crime. Detectives continue to follow up with others who may have been a witness to the crime, the sheriff added.

The weapon was recovered in the motel room, Adkins said, though he could not yet give more details. He also said they need to talk with witnesses before describing events leading up to the assault.

County jail records indicate Alvarez also is charged with violating a restraining order and that she allegedly was intoxicated when she was arrested around 7:40 p.m. at the Shell station.

Earlier Tuesday, Adkins said Frank Wolf, stabbed several times in guest room at the motel, remained in serious condition at a Portland hospital as detectives waited for an opportunity to interview him.

The sheriff said Wolf was found with several life-threatening stab wounds to his face and arms.

He said Wolf was scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday afternoon and that investigators hope to be able to interview him as soon as Wednesday.

Sheriff’s Capt. Marc Heckathorn said Wolf was taken by Jefferson County EMS to St. Charles Madras and later flown by air ambulance to Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland, where he was in serious but stable condition.

The region’s Major Crimes Team, Oregon State Police and Madras and Warm Springs police were assisting as numerous interviews were under way, as well as the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.

With the motel room’s door open, behind crime scene tape, you could see the room had been torn asunder, as deputies guarded the scene and detectives sought a search warrant. The OSP Crime Lab arrived on scene around 6 p.m. Monday to begin processing the room for evidence.

The motel manager said she found the victim in a guest room bathroom around 9:30 a.m. She told NewsChannel 21 her housekeeper called in sick, and they weren’t busy, so she went to clean the rooms herself and found a very disturbing, bloody scene.

“When I walked in, I went into the bathroom, and I knew it was something unpleasant,” Marbeya Pineda said. “And tried opening the door, and found somebody injured inside and decided to call 911.”

“It was definitely a crime scene,” Pineda added. “It’s something you don’t see in this small town, that’s that big.”

Anyone with information that could help authorities was asked to contact the sheriff’s Detective Bryan Skidgel at 541-475-6520.