The woman told police she'd just returned to the motel room with a birthday cake for Graham when he stabbed her, police said. (Credit: Nick Stephenson / Unsplash.com)
The incident took place at The Deck Motel in Whitpain Township.
Whitpain police responded to an incident at a local motel for the report of a stabbing. After interviews with those involved, the case became even more confusing.
According to a police criminal complaint, Whitpain Township Police responded on Monday, Nov. 18 around 10:08 p.m. to The Deck Motel, Room 10, located at 602 DeKalb Pike within the township for a report of a stabbing in the room. Multiple units were dispatched to the scene, as well as support from East Norriton Township and Lower Gwynedd departments.
The Deck Motel in Blue Bell (Image courtesy of Google StreetView)Police said that, when the arrived, they were met outside by a woman who told officers she’d been stabbed in her right side, near the abdomen. After getting her to a safe location, police offered medical aid. The woman said, according to police, that she was stabbed by a boyfriend with a green knife.
Another officer made verbal contact with the suspect who was still inside Room 10, said the complaint. The man, later identified as Kenneth Runard Graham, 55, of Blue Bell, was behind a locked door. As he is a paraplegic, he was unable to answer the door without assistance, police reported. Management was requested to unlock the room.
Police said that Graham was located on the bed, lying down, and officers secured him with handcuffs. No weapons were seen in the area, said the complaint.
According to the incident reports, the woman was transported by the Second Alarmers Rescue Squad to Jefferson Abington Hospital for injuries. Graham, who told police he had pain from a preexisting medical condition, causing him to be unable to sit up, was also transported by Plymouth Ambulance to Suburban Community Hospital, said reports.
The following day, Nov. 19, around 12:03 p.m., officers continued the investigation interviewing Graham who, after being read his Miranda rights, agreed to speak to police, said the complaint. Police said that Graham reported to them that he was asleep in the bed at the motel when the woman came into his room. He believed, police said, she had entered the room through a window. At that time, the woman was yelling at him, and he believed her to be “drunk and/or high on drugs and was throwing items around the room,” said police.
Graham said that the woman stabbed herself with a green knife and then threw it. He said to police that he did not know where the knife went after it was thrown. He also told police, according to the complaint, that the woman said she planned to accuse Graham of the stabbing, then leaving the room via the door.
Police said that Graham is a paraplegic, with no control of his lower body and that he had no use of his left hand. Graham denied the stabbing. Once medically cleared, police said Graham was released from police custody pending an investigation.
According to police, they then interviewed the woman around 1:40 p.m. at Jefferson Abington Hospital. She told police, according to the complaint, that she and Graham had had an argument in Room 10 the night before but said she could not remember what they were arguing about. According to the police complaint, she said she had just returned to the room after buying Graham a birthday cake. (Graham’s birthday is Oct. 19.) She told police she entered through the door.
Police reported that the woman told them Graham was on his back in the bed when she’d returned. She said she walked along the left side of the bed, to reportedly get her lighter from the nightstand, when “she felt herself getting stabbed in her abdomen,” said reports. The woman told police, according to their reports, that Graham had purchased a green knife only a couple of days earlier. She said she did not know what happened to the knife after the stabbing, and that she left the room, went into Room 8, and asked its occupant to call 911.
According to the complaint, the woman was reviewed by medical staff at the hospital for internal injuries, and that there were none. She told police she would appear in court to testify.
During the investigation, police were given permission to search the room, and between the wall and the dresser, on the left side of the bed, the knife was located. Police said it was a green, fixed-blade knife, with a plastic sheath. The knife, reports stated, was photographed and collected as evidence.
Graham was arrested on Nov. 20 by police. He is charged with a felony count of Aggravated Assault with an attempt to cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon, as well as misdemeanor counts of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. Lastly, Graham faces a summary offense of harassment, subjecting another to physical contact.
Graham was released on a bond signature the same day of his arrest and preliminary arraignment, Nov. 20. He is due to have a preliminary hearing on Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Suzan Leonard.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
