COLUMBUS – Bartholomew County Prosecutor Lindsey Holden-Kay announced Friday that no formal charges will be filed against a 17-year-old male accused of stabbing a Hope resident multiple times on Tuesday, September 3.
The incident, which occurred in Hope’s Goshen Meadows subdivision, left 42-year-old Eric Douglas with multiple stab wounds to his back. Douglas was airlifted to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for treatment, while the teenager was detained on a preliminary charge of battery causing serious bodily injury.
Bartholomew County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Dane Duke confirmed on September 12 that Douglas had been released from the hospital and was recovering from the injuries sustained in the attack.
Holden-Kay stated that if any charges are eventually filed against the 17-year-old, the case will remain under the jurisdiction of Juvenile Magistrate Brittney Long rather than being waived to adult court.
Details surrounding the stabbing, which took place at 10:26 p.m. on the day after Labor Day, remain scarce. The incident began as a minor domestic disturbance between Douglas and another individual, according to police. The 17-year-old got involved in the scuffle when he stepped in and started stabbing Douglas, investigators stated.
