No Bail For Man Accused Of Stabbing Tewksbury Woman 18 Times

TEWKSBURY, MA — A Lowell District Court judge ordered a man accused of holding a woman against her will in Tewksbury then stabbing her 18 times with a broken beer bottle to be held without bail. The man, who initially gave police the name of a Puerto Rican man whose identity he had stolen, is being identified in court documents as John Doe as investigators work to identify him. The dangerousness hearing Friday followed last Tuesdays arraignment, where Doe pleaded not guilty to 11 charges, including mayhem, aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and kidnapping.

Doe and the woman had dated for four years before breaking up 18 months ago, prosecutors said. On Monday, police were called to the Tewksbury Funeral Home, where the man's ex-girlfriend lived in an apartment on the upper floor of the business. Prosecutors said the man had shown up Sunday night and forced the woman to sleep next to him. He also threatened to kill her with a steak knife, prosecutors said.

On Monday morning, the woman tried to escape, at which point Doe caught up with her on the porch of the funeral home, according to court records, and smashed a beer bottle on her head. The bottle broke, and he repeatedly stabbed her in the back, neck, arms, chest and torso while yelling he was going to kill her, according to the documents.

After a neighbor called 911, police said they found the man in the bedroom of the apartment drinking a beer, his hand covered in blood. During a search of the apartment, police found what is believed to be cocaine. The victim sustained 18 stab wounds and has injuries that were described as permanently disfiguring by a plastic surgeon consulting on the case.

Doe was charged with armed assault with intent to murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, mayhem, aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, intimidating a witness, impeding a police investigation, possessing/using a false RMV document, identity fraud, furnishing a false ID to law enforcement, and assault and battery on a family/household member. He is due back in court for a probable cause hearing Friday.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).