This is an incident that occurred on a greenbelt trail in the Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge about a month ago. It was reported as a man stabbing a woman and her toddler child, and there was a manhunt for the man. I almost didn't see this follow up to this story in which it turned out that the woman allegedly stabbed herself and her child and blamed the man. This was during the major flooding in Colorado that week, so this new story slipped under my radar until now.
http://www.ourcoloradonews.com/wheatridge/news/police-arrest-woman-accused-of-stabbing-child/article_d8e83664-1cc0-11e3-bdcb-0019bb2963f4.htmlPolice arrest woman accused of stabbing child
The investigation into last month's Wheat Ridge Greenbelt-area double-stabbing took a bizarre twist last week after police arrested the woman who was once thought to be a victim in the case - no accused of trying to pin the attack of her and her child on a man who she claims raped her years ago.
Stephany Harwood, 21, of Lakewood was arrested last week, and was being held at the Jefferson County jail on a felony charge of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury. She was given a $100,000 bond.
Police believe that Harwood was the one who stabbed herself and her toddler son on a walking trail on Aug. 22. Harwood then allegedly concocted a story to try to place the blame on Marvin Gean Wilson - a man with a lengthy criminal history and whom Harwood claims she has known since she was a girl.
Harwood told police that Wilson attacked her and her son as they were walking along a Greenbelt trail near 48th Avenue and Otis Street.
But police aren't buying her story.
Detectives suspect several inconsistencies with Harwood's account, which is detailed in a 15-page arrest warrant affidavit. And police find it troubling that Harwood allegedly told a neighbor prior to the Greenbelt incident that she recently had a dream about being assaulted by Wilson and that she had a "weird feeling in her stomach" that he was back in the area - the day before the stabbing occurred, according to the affidavit.
Harwood was arrested Sept. 13 on a felony charge of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury and is being held on a $100,000 cash-only bond at the Jefferson County jail. She made her first court appearance on Sept. 16.
Police had become suspicious of Harwood's story even prior to them interviewing her the day after the incident.
Detectives were troubled by the number of times that Harwood and her family have filed police reports against Wilson over the years. The first one was a 2007 case, where Harwood helped authorities in an investigation into a sexual assault case that allegedly took place two years prior. Harwood also claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Wilson in Park County that same year, but that case was never prosecuted.
In four other reports of incidents involving Wilson that were brought forth by either Harwood or her family from 2008 through 2010, police say that "no evidence was located to believe that Wilson had been involved in any of the incidents, and investigating officers were suspicious of the events occurring as reported," according to the affidavit.
The day after the Greenbelt stabbings, police met with a neighbor whom Harwood spoke with the day before she reported being attacked by Wilson. The neighbor told police that Harwood told her that she had a dream about Wilson stabbing her the night before, and that Harwood told her that she "gets a weird feeling in her stomach when the guy that raped her comes around."
Harwood told police in an interview later that day that she first met Wilson when she about 15 years old, at time when he was involved in a relationship with her nephew's mother.
She told police that she knew it was Wilson who had attacked her on the Greenbelt, because she had "'looked him in the eyes,'" according to the affidavit.
"I was raped by him when I was 15 years old and I've never (forgotten) that face," she told detectives.
Prior to the Greenbelt incident, she told police that she had last seen Wilson three years ago, during an incident where she claimed that he used a knife to cut the side of her face and threatened to harm her son. She said that Wilson "has always stalked her" and he's wanted her dead ever since she cooperated in the case against him several years ago.
"I guess I was honestly done but I guess I was wrong because he got my son this time," she said, according to the affidavit.
But detectives told Harwood that her story "doesn't add up," and that "it is unusual" for someone to have a dream about being assaulted, feel an attack coming on and then have it actually occur.
Police were also confused after Harwood had them that Wilson had threatened her son three years ago, at a time when it was "not humanly possible" for her to have yet been pregnant with her son.
After telling Harwood that she needed to start telling the truth, she asked for a lawyer.
Police also interviewed Harwood's boyfriend, who told them that Harwood "seems like a decent person, but she may have some mental issues," according to the affidavit.
As for Wilson's whereabouts, police haven't been able to locate him. The FBI made contact with Wilson's brother in Florida, who told the agency that Wilson may now be living in Mexico.
The accused man is apparently a criminal and it's unclear whether her allegation against him raping her as a teenager is true or not, so the story is rather complex. However, I thought I'd post this here.
Here is the original story that many saw a month ago in which it appeared that the man stabbed the woman and child. It was rather upsetting and demoralizing at the time (and the whole weird story still is):
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/08/22/police-investigate-double-stabbing-at-trailhead-in-wheat-ridge/BTW, the other story I posted about the woman allegedly killed by her lesbian roommate and buried in the mountains also took place in Wheat Ridge. What is going on there?
