Amber Winston Booked into Jail

Probable cause statement of Detective Tedd Betts for booking Amber Winston into the Snohomish County Jail. Amber Winston is charged with ASSAULT 2ND W/WEAPON (KNIFE) for the stabbing of Timothy Sager on April 16, 2015.

PC for Arrest: Within the boundaries of Snohomish County on April 16, 2015; Amber L. Winston committed an unprovoked attack upon Timothy A. Sager with 2 knives. Winston and Sager have had a previous romantic relationship and have lived together. At about 04:45 hrs on this date, Jerome Laliberte, the property owner at 20520 Frank Waters Rd. in Stanwood, called 9-1·1 to report that one of the people living on his property, Timothy Sager, had multiple stab wounds and had been attacked by Amber Winston. Laliberte said he was awakened by the sound of Sager calling for help.

Winston was attacking Sager outside Laliberte's bedroom and when he went outside, Winston had a knife in one hand and was holding onto Sager with the other. Laliberte used a broom to strike Winston so he could separate her from him. Winston retreated to her motorhome on the property after that. Sager was transported to Providence, Colby Campus, for treatment of multiple stab wounds. I interviewed Sager at the hospital and photographed his injuries. Sager told me Winston called him to her motorhome earlier that morning. He said when he arrived he noticed she was acting strangely and holding a large kitchen utility knife.

They went to his 26 ft trailer on the property, where he lives alone, and once they were inside, Winston attacked him from behind with the knife. He said he fought with her and was able to remove the knife from her, but immediately after that, she grabbed another knife from his kitchen counter and she attacked him again. He was able to flee and run to Mr. Laliberte's house, where he screamed for help.

He said the attack upon him was totally unprovoked and unexpected. He said nothing happened prior to the attack to lead him to believe she was angry or wanted to hurt him. He said he did not attack her prior to her attack and the force he used on her was to try to remove the knives from her and protect himself. Later, Mr. Sager admitted he and Winston smoked methamphetamine together that morning.

Mr. Sager had multiple stab wounds: The back of his left upper arm, the base of his neck on his spine, his left upper chest. He had cuts on his left little finger and another on his face. Mr. Sager required surgery to .repair the stab wound on his chest, which had apparently punctured an area near his heart I overheard the doctor tell him that if that injury wasn't surgically repaired; he could die.

I interviewed Mr. Laliberte and he provided the information listed previously.

Amber Winston isolated herself within her motorhome after the incident and wouldn't initially come out to talk with the police. SWAT was called out to secure the area and after extensive negotiations and hours later; she surrendered peacefully and was taken in custody at 0941 hrs. I interviewed her post-Miranda. She said Sager attacked her and she had to use two knives to stab him to defend herself. She said Sager put both of his hands around her neck and choked her by depressing her "Adams apple." She said his attack was unprovoked.

She said she has bi-polar disorder and she sees para-normal activity. She said she takes medication for her mental health issues and her last dose was at 9:00 p.m. the night previous. Based upon a series of questions, she was able to correctly tell me the name of the President of the United States, the current month, the town we were in and she appeared to be able to discern right from wrong.

I photographed her and noted no injuries on her neck and none on her hands or arms. She said she didn't feel pain anywhere else on her body and I didn't see any injuries. I noted what appeared to be dried blood on both of her hands. Also, I noted what appeared to be a large blood stain on the right side (her perspective) of her T-shirt. This was not from an injury on her.

My interview with Winston leads me to believe that she has mental health problems. The evidence in this case strongly suggests that Mr. Sager's story is credible and that Amber Winston attacked him with two knives without provocation. Indeed, two bloody knives, similar to those described, were recovered under a court-authorized search during this investigation.

One was found in Winston's motorhome. Also, investigators found a large amount of blood in Timothy Sager's trailer, outside of it and on a broom near Mr. Laliberte' s home. Amber Winston does not have any injuries consistent with the attack she described.

The pair have had a domestic relationship in the past.