Couple stabbed in their home

Stephen Curran

Friday, Feb. 4, 2005 | 11:11 a.m.

An elderly Las Vegas couple was repeatedly stabbed in a northwest Las Vegas home Thursday night in what may be a random act of violence, Metro Police said.

Officers this morning were looking for a man they say approached the woman as she stood in the couple's open garage in the 200 block of Dawn Isle Drive, near Buffalo and Westcliff drives, about 8:30 p.m. The stranger asked the woman who lived there if a man named "Andy" lived at the house, according to a Metro statement.

When the 66-year-old woman said no, the man followed her into her house and stabbed her between 10 and 20 times in the back, Officer Jose Montoya, a Metro spokesman, said.

When the woman's 70-year-old husband heard his wife scream, he came down the stairs and was stabbed three times, Capt. James Dillon of Metro's robbery-homicide section said.

Both were taken to University Medical Center in critical condition and underwent surgery overnight, Dillon said. Their names were not released this morning.

The couple suffered serious injuries, but they were in stable condition and were expected to recover, according to police.

"It is a heinous crime and it is being pursued vigorously," Dillon said.

The suspect, described as a Hispanic man between 18 and 20 years old wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, made off with the couple's car keys but did not steal their car, Montoya said. No other items were reported stolen.

Officers later conducted a house-to-house search of the neighborhood but were unsuccessful in locating the man, police said.

Detectives had yet to establish a motive this morning, he said. The stabbing was being investigated as an attempted home invasion and attempted homicide this morning.

"With them being elderly and him (the suspect) just stabbing them and leaving, robbery doesn't appear to be the motive," Montoya said. "It looks like he just decided to pick on this poor old lady."