A 17-year-old male accused of stabbing a Hope resident multiple times will not be formally charged with a crime.
Bartholomew County prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay announced that decision Friday in regard to the Sept. 3 incident in Hope’s Goshen Meadows subdivision.
Eric Douglas, 42, was stabbed in the back multiple times in the 100 block of Schaefer Court South, according to a press release from the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s office.
The wounded man was transported by medical helicopter to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, while the 17-year-old was taken into custody on a preliminary charge of battery causing serious bodily injury.
On Sept. 12, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Dane Duke confirmed Douglas had been released from the hospital.
One day later, Holden-Kay said that if any charges are filed against the 17-year-old, the case will remain under the jurisdiction of Juvenile Magistrate Brittney Long, rather than waived to adult court.
Few details have been released concerning the 10:26 p.m. stabbing on the day after Labor Day. While Douglas resides in the neighborhood where he was stabbed, investigators have not confirmed the incident took place within his home.
The incident began as a minor domestic disturbance between Douglas and another individual, the press release stated. The 17-year-old got involved in the scuffle when he stepped in and began stabbing Douglas, investigators stated.
After questioning, the suspect was temporarily kept secure within the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center in Columbus.
