MN Man to Admit to Brutal Knife Attack & Terrorizing a Child

Mankato, MN (KROC-AM News) - A southern Minnesota man with a history of violent crimes has agreed to admit to a knife attack on a woman that left her with dozens of stab wounds and inflicting a nightmarish ordeal on a young child.

The criminal complaint against 35-year-old Dustin Lee Murilla says the critically wounded woman was in a vehicle with the Mankato area man when he led law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase in late May of last year. The court document says the pursuit began after a family member reported seeing Murilla driving on a sidewalk and using meth, which was followed up by other citizen complaints about his driving behavior.

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Eventually, the pursuing officers were ordered to take action to stop the vehicle. The criminal complaint indicates one of the officers rammed a squad car into the suspect vehicle, causing it to flip onto its side.

As officers were approaching the vehicle with weapons drawn, the victim emerged covered in blood and collapsed as she was walking toward them. The charging document says she told the officers Murilla had slit her throat and that she had been injured by him after the crash. After she was rushed to a hospital in critical condition, doctors determined she had suffered 36 stab wounds and 6 of them were described as life-threatening.

Murilla was charged with first and second-degree attempted murder, felony kidnapping, first-degree assault, and a felony count of fleeing police.

He was later charged with second-degree assault, kidnapping, and threats of violence for attacking an 11-year-old child the day before the police chase and brutal stabbing that led to his arrest.

Court documents say an investigator with the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office was told by the victim that Murilla had tied her up, stuffed a sock in her mouth, and tied a sheet around her head that covered her mouth and prevented her from screaming. The victim then stated that Murilla picked up a knife and threatened her, saying he was going to have her mother decide what to cut off first and telling her he would kill her and her family if she told anyone.

Under the terms of a plea agreement, Murilla has agreed to enter a guilty plea to a first-degree attempted murder charge for the attack on the woman and the high-speed chase. The court record also indicates he will plead guilty to a felony threats of violence charge for terrorizing the young girl.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in October and the plea deal calls for a 240 month prison sentence.

Both crimes occurred while Murilla was on supervised release for a 2013 attempted murder conviction that carried a 183 month prison sentence. The Minnesota Department of Corrections website indicates he was brought to the Oak Park Heights State Prison several days after his arrest last year for violating his probation in the earlier attempted murder case.

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