Madison police are investigating a homicide after one person was stabbed to death and another was left with cut wounds inside a single-family home on the Southwest Side Thursday evening.
The suspect, Travis M. Christianson, was arrested and taken to the Dane County Jail on tentative charges of first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide, Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said. Christianson and the two victims knew each other.
Officers responded to a report of a person being stabbed at a home in the 3000 block of Dorchester Way around 9 p.m. Thursday, Madison police said.
An arriving officer encountered Christianson as he was leaving the home and ordered him to the ground, but he kept advancing, DeSpain said. The officer used a Taser to subdue Christianson and then took him into custody.
Inside the residence, officers found the two victims, both with knife wounds. One of the victims died at the scene after being stabbed multiple times, DeSpain said.
The other was taken to a hospital with knife wounds that were not life-threatening. That victim was treated and released by Friday afternoon, DeSpain said.
Police did not release the age, gender or names of the victims.
Christianson was taken to a hospital for evaluation and observation, but DeSpain said he was not injured. Christianson remains in the Dane County Jail.
Sgt. Richard Wipperfurth said in a statement that there is no continuing threat to the broader community because the individuals knew each other.
The death is the eighth homicide in Madison this year and the third this month. There were four homicides in the city in 2019.
Emily Hamer | Wisconsin State Journal
Emily Hamer is a general assignment reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal. She joined the paper in April 2019 and was formerly an investigative reporting intern at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.
