SPOKANE, Wash. — The man accused of stabbing and killing his cousin in Spokane Valley on Friday told police he stabbed the victim in self-defense. However, investigators said the evidence from the scene of the altercation contradicts that claim, according to court documents.
20-year-old Aaron M. McAteer was arrested on Saturday for an unrelated warrant. Earlier that day, McAteer's attorney contacted detectives, which led to him being arrested and booked into the Spokane County Jail for second-degree murder.
McAteer appeared in court for the first time on Monday. A judge set his bond at $750,000.
The stabbing occurred after a fight broke out between McAteer and his cousin near East Boone Avenue on Friday evening. When police arrived, McAteer was gone and his cousin was found lying on the ground.
The Spokane Valley Police Department (SVPD) confirmed the cousin died from his injuries.
According to court documents, a witness called 911 after she observed McAteer and his cousin fighting and yelling. Before ending the call, the witness told 911 dispatchers that one of the men "was now laying in the bushes" and was not moving.
When police arrived, they found McAteer's cousin laying in the bushes near a home. Court documents said he was not breathing when officers found him. One officer tried giving the cousin CPR but was not able to find a pulse.
McAteer's cousin was pronounced dead at the hospital, where doctors concluded he suffered from approximately nine stab wounds, according to documents.
Detectives spoke with McAteer's grandmother on the night of the stabbing. She told police that McAteer and his cousin were at her house drinking alcohol. The two eventually left, but McAteer returned to his grandmother's house "around sunset" on Friday.
According to the grandmother, McAteer admitted to stabbing his cousin but said he did it because he "came at him with a pocketknife." McAteer told his grandmother he threw the knife prior to returning to her house.
McAteer also told his grandmother that he would turn himself in to the police on Saturday at noon, according to documents. He also told several other family members that he stabbed his cousin.
On Saturday, detectives received a phone call from McAteer's attorney, who said McAteer was willing to make a statement. Two detectives went to the attorney's office and interviewed McAteer there.
According to court documents, McAteer told detectives that he and his cousin were together at a residence on Friday. McAteer told detectives that the two left after his cousin "assaulted a female guest" on Friday. The two had been drinking and were reportedly going to walk to a gas station together, but McAteer said his cousin "walked off."
McAteer told detectives that he stopped and watched his cousin walk approximately one block away from him. McAteer reportedly stayed near the intersection of Dorn Court and Boone Avenue and yelled out to his cousin, who he said started running toward him with a knife.
The claim that McAteer stayed at the intersection while his cousin ran toward him with a pocketknife "seems to be contradicted by the surveillance video and witness," according to documents. The video in question shows McAteer walking westbound from the intersection of Lewis Road and Boone Avenue just before the incident.
McAteer alleged that he attempted to hold his cousin back as he continued trying to attack him. McAteer then pulled his own knife out of his pocket while holding his cousin back and stabbed him only "two to three times," according to documents. Doctors concluded that the cousin had been stabbed at least nine times.
McAteer said he did not see his cousin cutting his hand, but felt it being cut. He showed detectives his hands, which did have small injuries but none that were consistent with injuries from a straight-edged weapon, according to investigators.
Officers who responded to the scene of the incident did find a pocket knife in the cousin's pocket, but the knife was reportedly closed and did not have any blood on it. Due to the amount of blood the cousin lost after the stabbing, investigators said it is unlikely that he would have been able to close the knife and put it back in his pocket if he was threatening McAteer with it beforehand.
Based on the evidence, investigators told McAteer that he was under arrest for second-degree murder. He was later booked into the Spokane County Jail on Saturday night.
McAteer remains in jail on a $750,000 bond.
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