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News footage of McKenzy Hafer during her court appearance (KATU).
A Washington teen told her parents that she didn’t believe in God, which spurred an argument that allegedly ended in both parents being stabbed.
McKenzy Hafer, 19, was charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder after the alleged attack that took place on Easter Sunday, April 20. According to police reports obtained by KATU, a local ABC affiliate, McKenzy Hafer’s father, Benjamin Hafer, wished his daughter a “Happy Resurrection Day,” to which she responded by saying she didn’t believe in God. The two reportedly had a verbal argument and then went into separate rooms of the house.
When McKenzy Hafer’s mother, Erin Hetzler, confronted her daughter about the comment, they reportedly had a verbal argument of their own that escalated.
Even though McKenzy Hafer wished her father a “Happy Resurrection Day” in return, according to local CBS affiliate KOIN’s reporting on the court documents, Hetzler pressed her daughter about the exchange. This, according to the documents, was where the argument took a violent turn.
McKenzy Hafer was reportedly cooking in the kitchen when her mother came into the room to ask about the argument with her father. While details of their ensuing argument were unclear, the documents stated that the verbal argument turned physical when McKenzy Hafer reportedly got so heated up that she threw her phone to the floor.
Benjamin Hafer then entered the room and asked what had happened to the phone. According to the police report, McKenzy Hafer then grabbed a kitchen knife and allegedly stabbed her father in the stomach “with the intent to kill him.” Then, McKenzy Hafer turned the same knife on her mother, allegedly stabbing her in the throat “with the intent to kill her.”
Dakota Hafer, McKenzy’s brother, was also in the house at the time but was not part of the alleged attack.
When McKenzy Hafer was questioned by police, her account of the alleged attack was consistent with the injuries her parents sustained. Both parents are expected to survive.
McKenzy Hafer was charged with two counts of attempted murder in the second degree and taken into custody on $500,000 bail. Her next court appearance is scheduled for May 5.
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