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TAYLORSVILLE — Police say a 15-year-old boy accused of stabbing a couple in their bedroom had entered the Taylorsville house at random after finding an unlocked door, and his sole purpose for entering was to attack someone.
"We believe he entered the home with the intent to commit an assault," said Taylorsville Police Sgt. Jake Hill.
Detectives say the West Valley teen had no relationship with the couple and prior to Tuesday, he had had no dealings with them.
On Wednesday, the couple — a husband and wife both in their late 30s to early 40s — were both stable, according to police, after undergoing "extensive medical care" and are expected to survive. It was not immediately known whether the couple remained in the hospital Wednesday.
Police also revealed Wednesday that a child was asleep in the house at the time of the attacks but was not harmed and did not come in contact with the intruder.
The scary situation unfolded about 3:50 a.m. Tuesday when a 15-year-old boy found an unlocked door at a residence in the area of 4800 South and 3400 West. Police are still investigating whether the boy tried to enter other homes before going into the victims' house.
Once inside, he found a man and wife asleep in their bed and began stabbing the man multiple times, according to police. The man fought back as his wife ran from the house. But the teen chased after her and stabbed her while on a neighbor's front porch, police said.
Hill said the neighbor called 911 at about the same time as the husband had called 911 from his house. Both the husband and wife were taken to local hospitals with life-threatening injuries.
Related:
Boy wakes couple, stabs both after entering random Taylorsville home, police say
A 15-year-old boy was arrested early Tuesday after police say he entered a random Taylorsville home in the middle of the night, woke up a couple and then stabbed the husband and wife.Taylorsville and West Valley police surrounded the area and officers using police K-9s and drones found the boy at a construction site a few blocks away, Hill said. The teen was taken into custody without further incident.
Based on interviews with the victims and the 15-year-old, police believe the attacks were a "random act of violence," according to Hill. Why police believe the boy was looking to attack someone was not released Wednesday.
The boy was arrested and booked into juvenile detention for investigation of two counts of aggravated assault and burglary.
