The Kahului man charged with fatally stabbing his estranged wife and two good Samaritans on Tuesday night in a Wailuku supermarket denied having any memory of stabbing anyone, according to court documents.
Stephen B. Schmidt told police the last thing he remembered was taking about three Ambien pills (sleeping pills) Tuesday afternoon and then realized he was at the police station later that evening, according to a police affidavit filed Thursday in Wailuku District Court.
Schmidt, 45, appeared Thursday in District Court on charges of first-degree murder in the death of his 24-year-old wife, Kehau Farias Schmidt, one count of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of second-degree attempted murder and one count of first-degree terroristic threatening.
District Judge Kelsey Kawano ordered Schmidt be held without bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.
The affidavit said the Schmidts were separated, and Farias Schmidt had an active temporary restraining order against her husband, which court records show he violated April 13.
On Tuesday evening Schmidt entered the Kehalani Foodland to look for his estranged wife and her boyfriend, the affidavit said.
He confronted them, cut Farias Schmidt’s neck with a knife, then stabbed in the chest two men — Scott Stolsig and James Reeves II — who tried to intervene, according to the affidavit. The three were taken in critical condition to the hospital, where Farias Schmidt died. The two men were upgraded to stable condition.
A Foodland employee said he heard Schmidt tell the woman he was going to stab her just before doing so one to three times, and she held her chest as blood “gushed” out.
Police said Stolsig intervened first and was stabbed in the chest.
The Foodland employee said he saw Reeves chase Schmidt outside where there was a confrontation, but Schmidt ran back into the store, they fought and Reeves was stabbed, the affidavit said.
Schmidt fled and was arrested after crashing his vehicle into his residence at 400 Molokai Hema St. in Kahului, according to the affidavit.
The arresting officer said Schmidt’s daughter asked him what was going on, and he replied that he had stabbed someone, the affidavit said. The officer asked him about his wife, but Schmidt refused to provide any information.
According to the affidavit, Schmidt then told the officer, “What you guys charging me with, huh? You guys cannot charge me with murder because she is still alive; she never die.”
Another officer saw a folding knife on the passenger seat of Schmidt’s vehicle and blood on the steering wheel, the affidavit said.
