Police: Homicide victim stabbed in ear at Western State Hospital

Officers are investigating an apparent homicide at Western State Hospital after a 28-year-old patient there was found dead in another patient's room, Lakewood police say.

West Pierce Fire and Rescue medics responded to the sprawling psychiatric facility at about 3 p.m. Friday after staff members there called to report an unresponsive patient.

Medics were unable to revive the 28-year-old man, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, in another patient's room.

Officers were called and during their investigation they found suspicious injuries on the victim that were "not consistent with a natural or expected death," said Lakewood police spokesman Lt. Chris Lawler.

Lawler said it appeared the victim had been stabbed in the ear with a pencil or pen.

The patient who the room belonged to, a 40-year-old man, was not there when medics arrived. Hospital staff later found him hiding in a nearby room, and he was detained as a possible suspect.

Homicide detectives interviewed other patients on the ward, and one of them reported hearing an argument between the suspect and the victim, along with some loud noises just before the victim was discovered.

Detectives also interviewed the 40-year-old patient, who confessed to killing the victim over an argument about unwanted behavior, police said.

The man was booked into the Pierce County Jail for investigation of second-degree murder.

The names of the suspect and victim have not been made available.

Lawler said more details will be released once the police investigation has been concluded and the medical examiner conducts an autopsy.

Western State Hospital, with 806 beds, is operated by the state Department of Social and Health Services. Located at 9601 Steilacoom Blvd. SW in Lakewood, it is reportedly the largest mental facility west of the Mississippi River.

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