Stabbing suspect arrested
By Evan BevinsNEW MATAMORAS - A man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend in New Matamoras early Tuesday morning was arrested in Pleasants County that evening after apparently swimming across the Ohio River.
Thaddeus J. Salomon, 19, was arrested by a Pleasants County sheriff's deputy after Salomon reportedly approached someone along West Virginia 2 near the Pleasants-Tyler County line, said Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks. The suspect said he needed a ride to Marietta so he could turn himself in, Mincks said.
Salomon was "completely soaked" at the time, the sheriff said.
"It appears he may have swam the river," he said.
Salomon was in custody at the North Central Regional Jail Tuesday night and local authorities were prepared to start extradition proceedings if he did not waive extradition first, Mincks said.
Once back in Washington County, Salomon will be charged with attempted murder in the stabbing of Susan I. Lawson, 23, of 51076 State Route 7, New Matamoras.
Lawson was listed in fair condition at Grant Medical Center in Columbus, a nursing supervisor said.
Mincks said Salomon and Lawson had been living at the residence with her family but she recently asked him to move out.
Shortly after the two returned from work around 12:20 a.m. Tuesday, Lawson's father reported hearing his daughter scream for help, according to a release from Mincks. Outside, he found his daughter on the ground with a puncture wound to her back.
Lawson said Salomon had asked her for a hug and told her he had a surprise for her, then stabbed her, puncturing her left lung, the release says. He then fled on foot.
The sheriff's office searched for Salomon throughout the day, though their efforts were hampered by thunderstorms around 5 a.m. There were still deputies out looking for him, primarily in unmarked vehicles, when the Pleasants County Sheriff's Department contacted them, Mincks said.
