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Local News 
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Father of suspect in fatal stabbing believes he was off medication The father of the suspect in the fatal stabbing of an Everett woman says his son struggled with mental illness. EVERETT -- Bob Well has spent more than four decades worrying about his son.It's inherent for the parent of a man diagnosed with schizophrenia and a history of violence. On Sunday, what the widowed World War II veteran dreaded most -- the taking of a human life -- became real. Steven Well, 58, was arrested that evening and is now charged with second-degree murder. There was blood on his pants and cuts on his right hand. His landlady, Judy Garcia, 64, had been stabbed to death inside the front door of the Colby Avenue apartment complex where they both lived. "I'm just totally devastated," Bob Well said. "My heart is with that poor family. She did not have to die." Bob Well, 84, is receiving condolences of his own these days from a wide circle of acquaintances: a World War II shipmate, fellow Lions Club members and former clients of the hearing aid business he owned and operated for more than 30 years in downtown Everett. While appreciated, it is little solace. "It's not about me," he said. "It's about that poor lady." This is not the first time Steven Well has been accused of a brutal attack. He was committed to Western State Hospital in 1980 after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity for an attack on another woman at an Everett apartment complex where he lived. He was accused of breaking into her apartment and stabbing her. She survived. Steven Well later told a psychiatrist that he believed the woman was invading his brain with electrical signals. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Bob Well remembers being shown cut lamp cords when he went to remove items from his son's apartment 30 years ago. He was told Steven Well feared bad people were sending messages through the power cords, scrambling his brain. Steven Well was released to a group home in 1983, but was returned to Western State Hospital five years later after he used a hammer to attack another resident at a Tacoma group home where he was staying. Steven Well spent more than 20 years confined to mental hospitals. Bob Well said he first started becoming concerned about his son's behavior when Steven was about 15. Then a Cascade High School student, he began acting out and distancing himself from friends. At first, Well and his wife thought their son was just being a rebellious teenager. By the time he was 17, Steven was using drugs, including the hallucinogen LSD. His parents realized his problems were deeper. They started looking for professional help. After high school in 1970, Steven Well held down a mill job for three years, but his behavior grew increasingly odd. He was convinced that drug dealers were after him and felt he needed to flee to Europe to get away, his father said. In his 20s, Steven Well moved to Switzerland to study cinematography at a university, but was taken to a psychiatric hospital after resisting police when his visa expired, Well said. Bob Well said his son's behavior was frightening when they got him home. "It was a constant worry," he said. "It never stopped, 24 hours a day." After his 1980 arrest, Bob Well said his son told him from jail: "Don't worry about me now. I'm safe. They can't get at me in here." When Steven Well was committed to Western State Hospital after the first stabbing, Bob Well hoped he would get the help he desperately needed. Steven Well instead spent much of that time in legal battles trying to get out, court records show. It was such a focus in his life that his therapists said it was getting in the way. He finally succeeded in regaining freedom, despite concerns from mental health experts. Bob Well hoped for the best. "It was like a light at the end of the tunnel, but would it last?" he said. "Thank God, Sherrie (Bob Well's wife) didn't live long enough to see this." Sherrie Well died in 2007. Bob Well took care of her as Alzheimer's erased many of her memories during the last 16 years of her life. Today, Bob Well treasures a black-and-white family portrait taken in 1956. It's a picture of him with his wife, son and daughter. Steven was 5. All seemed right in their world. Bob Well said his son seemed to be doing well after his release. He took his prescribed medications and he liked his new life in the Edison Apartments where he spent his time writing screenplays. Bob Well felt good when he would see other tenants greet his son in the hallway. Yet there were always concerns. Steven Well would get worried when the state would change where he could receive psychiatric services or get his medicine. In recent weeks, Steven Well seemed more agitated, his father said. Bob Well speculates his son was not taking his medications. Police said the stabbing followed an argument. Sgt. Robert Goetz said the police aren't the ones to determine Steven Well's mental state at the time of the homicide. "When we investigate a case, we don't make judgment on that," he said. In the days before the fatal assault, Steven Well called his dad to tell him he had bought a month's supply of food and believed the refrigerator in his apartment wasn't working properly. Bob Well said he told him he would be by in a couple of days to check it out. "I said, 'Hold your temper. I'll be down,'" he said. "I should have been there. A couple of days was too damn late." Bob Well also said the state must do a better job of providing a consistent level of services for people living with mental illness. "The care for these people, it's on again, off again. It's a merry-go-round," he said. "I'm not making excuses for him. I'm just laying it on the line. There is no excuse for killing anybody." Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com |
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COMMENTS
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his father thought he was off his Meds...what the heck give him the clue...dah..
WeeWah Walkker | Jul 27, 2010 4:30 pm | 0 replies | Request removal
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Bob Well has spent more than four decades worrying about his son.
ugh. not really enough. Birth control people, it's highly underrated
kelly springwater | Jul 26, 2010 9:44 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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I am quite simply stunned by the abject idiocy of some of these comments. It simply staggers ones imagination. Ronald Regan is at fault?? The victim is at fault for not conducting a background check? Somehow society is at fault but not the murderer? Is it simply because he is "mentally ill" that makes it acceptable for him to assault people throughout his life until he finally kills a woman who didn't perform a background check ? This guy is a MENACE. He should have NEVER been released! It is the fault of only one person here that this poor woman is dead... "Steven Well, 58, was arrested that evening and is now charged with second-degree murder." Although there were many that were negligent in his worthless life including Staff at Western State for ultimately releasing him HE is the one who killed HER...Now spend my tax dollars properly and let him rot...
Boo Yea | Jul 25, 2010 9:32 am | 7 replies | Request removal
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It wasn't Reagan's fault either. Society should be blamed for not doing enough research on early Alzheimers.
david coulter | Jul 25, 2010 11:37 am | Request removal
"This guy is a MENACE. He should have NEVER been released!"
A gold star for you! Now, let's introduce you to this inconvenient little thing called reality.
You say the hospital should have kept him under their charge. Well, in the best of all possible worlds they should have kept him. For anybody with an IQ of 80 or greater, this is difficult to argue with.
But as you may be aware, we don't live in the best of all possible worlds, and in this particular scenario it is, in point of fact, entirely due to the machinations of the Reagan Administration years ago when they gutted the funding that would have enabled mental health facilities to hold on to dangrous mentally unwell individuals.
The reality is, horrendously insufficient funding leads to improperly released dangerous people being released. If the hospital had the resources with which to hold onto these people, they would. But they don't, and the result is mentally disturbed violent people being released for want of funding, and innocent people being knifed to death because conservative policies will not pony up with the resources necessary to institutionalize them.
But, hey, perhaps you think money grows on trees or these hospitals should be doing what they do for free. I believe you mentioned "idiocy" upthread?
Jacques Klahaya | Jul 25, 2010 3:12 pm | Request removal
The keyword here is "State". The Reagan administration reduced funding on the "Federal" level. Washington State (not controlled by Ronald Reagan) has chosen to support things such as public art and Billion Dollar Tunnels rather than Mental Health. Now this problem is "entirely" due to what?
david coulter | Jul 25, 2010 5:45 pm | Request removal
No Jacky,
I know where my money comes from, but Ronnie didn't stab her now did he...I know, we could let them ALL move in with you. That should satisfy you huh?
I truly am sorry for miserable wretch that he has homicidal tendencies, and as a conservative I am willing to pony up the money to deal with this issue. My question to you is this. What program are YOU willing to let go of in order to fund it, or do we just continue to raise taxes in a state run by your democrats that habitually wastes it? The last time I checked, we were BILLIONS yes BILLIONS in the red. Try to wrap all of your 80 IQ points around that.
I also wonder why didn't Clinton fix it? He had 8 years, we both know that Bush ( either of them ) wouldn't. But hows about this Obama guy? He is currently in the process of giving away the farm so to speak. He saved us all from ourselves when he graciously gave us health care, and even then He didn't think it was an issue needing to be fixed.
So, you see it wasn't Reagan's fault this trash heap killed that innocent woman...it was Steven Wells fault cut and dry.
Boo Yea | Jul 25, 2010 6:38 pm | Request removal
I truly am sorry for miserable wretch that he has homicidal tendencies, and as a conservative I am willing to pony up the money to deal with this issue.
Really? Well, I must admit that's surprising. Shocking, actually. Too bad you're not more representative of the vast majority of your conservative brethren who care more about lucre than basic humananity.
My question to you is this. What program are YOU willing to let go of in order to fund it...
As I've worked in government and have seen how thoroughly incompetent, corrupt and shockingly wasteful it is, you might be surprised at how much I'd dearly love to see cut.
As I've said repeatedly, we could start by slashing the paper-pushing administrative leeches by about 25% across the board and let the rest just pick up the slack. This could be achieved by having clear and measurable performance standards that are enforced under pain of termination for incompetence, just like in the private sector. You'd see a lot less gov't workers taking two-hour lunches and doing endless rounds of make-work, pretty quick.
Changing the HR processes so that it doesn't take an Act of God to fire government workers would be a necessary second step.
I'll stop here because I could go on for days.
As for specific programs to cut? I can think of two: first, fire every translator paid by the state and provide services and documentation in English only. Second, provide zero services, including education, to anybody who cannot prove they are a US citizen.
...or do we just continue to raise taxes in a state run by your democrats that habitually wastes it? The last time I checked, we were BILLIONS yes BILLIONS in the red. Try to wrap all of your 80 IQ points around that.
Oh, yes, by all means lecture us about Democrats and their wasteful ways. While you're at it, perhaps you can explain how it's during Republican administrations that our national debt goes through the stratosphere. Here's a handy chart so you have a picture:
http://www.lafn.org/gvdc/Natl_Debt_Chart.html
And yet your republicans are the ones who go on and on about fiscal responsibility. Funny how that works, ain't it?
I also wonder why didn't Clinton fix it?
And play right into Republicans' hands? They'd pull their usual bait and switch: create the problem, then when a Democrat steps in to fix it, blame him as a "Big Gubmint Politician."
So, you see it wasn't Reagan's fault this trash heap killed that innocent woman...it was Steven Wells fault cut and dry.
I know this won't satisfy conservative bloodlust for yee-haw, hang 'im high retribution, but if he's criminally insane, it is actually not his fault. Had he gotten the treatment he needs (basically confinement), this would never have happened. Thanks 100% to Republicans, that wasn't possible and now a woman is dead.
Jacques Klahaya | Jul 26, 2010 12:51 am | Request removal
NEWS FLASH!!!! Some sharp sleuthing by the crack Herald Investigative News Staff has discovered that Jacques Klahaya in reality is none other than John Hinckley Jr. !!!!!
david coulter | Jul 26, 2010 5:55 am | Request removal
Wow, you're a regular laugh-riot. Have another toke.
This is basically what one should expect from a conservative. Thank's for proving it out. Well done.
Jacques Klahaya | Jul 26, 2010 6:05 am | Request removal
Why didn't Bob warn someone? If he knew what his son was capable of why did he not let the apartment managers know? If there was something wrong with the fridge why did he not call the apartment managers who normally take care of that sort of thing?? WHY????
Emily A | Jul 24, 2010 1:09 pm | 3 replies | Request removal
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Because hindsight is wonderful. Because families DON'T follow their adult children around warning all and sundry about what they think MIGHT happen. They'd soon be the subject of slander or libel suits if the did. We have privacy laws that need abiding by and there are pros and cons to them, as in everything in life. 'Why didn't....' and 'what if.....' serve no purpose here.
Gold Barian | Jul 25, 2010 2:28 pm | Request removal
Emily, It is so very, very wrong to blame this mans father. You clearly do not understand the laws and the inability for families to help a member with schizophrenia. One person on here thinks it is "crazy" to blame Reagan. I loved R.R. but he is the one who changed the laws and gave mentally impaired people the right to refuse help. It has been a massive problem since then as these people are dumped on the streets and not required to see doctors or take meds.
The father is in his 80's and was planning on driving down to help out his son as soon as he could. Give him the break he deserves. He has worried for year after year after year and help from the state was not forthcoming. Do you think he can hold down his son and force meds into him? His son had been doing well and he had a place to stay and job, do you think that would be the time to take away his living place by calling the landlord? Find some grace within yourself and understand that this man is not at fault. His son should have never been released from Western or some sort of lock up and the error was made at that point. Please do no blame the families. They cannot do anything as the shizophrenic person has protected human rights.
colleen f | Jul 25, 2010 5:40 pm | Request removal
Actually Colleen, Ronald Reagan (whom I do not hold in hero status), only helped reduce the Federal Funding for Mental Health. The questions of commitment and right to refuse were decided by courts. O'Connor v. Donaldson (US Supreme Court) and Rennie v. Klein (Federal District Court).
david coulter | Jul 25, 2010 5:56 pm | Request removal
This may sound cold blooded, but Judy Garcia had a job to do as a landlord and she made as much of a mistake in her job as an electrician failing to turn the power off before changing a light switch. Judy likely failed to conduct a background check prior to accepting him as a building tenant. Steven Well might have told her he went to Cascade High School and graduated in 1970, but is that a proper background check? I don't think so, not at all. In all likelihood, her death was a preventable tragedy. How much does a proper background check cost? $30-$50, maybe $100 at most (I think). If Steven Well didn't feel he'd pass, he'd likely save the non-refundable application fee by going somewhere else. If Judy performed a background check, and the research company provided false information, then one could go after that provider to collect damages. The state certainly is not responsible. Bob Well is not responsible. However, Judy was in command and was responsible for who lived in the Edison apartments. I think the inter-social security of the building should have been as important as all the utilities and rent paid. Failing this cost her life and it could have cost a tenant his or her life too.
David Bryce | Jul 25, 2010 4:01 am | 2 replies | Request removal
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Unfortunately, many of the commercial background checks fail to turn-up adequate background information on folks like Mr. Well. I checked his background on one of the larger commercial sites - US Search - and it found his home address, but nothing about criminal history. I googled "Washington State Courts" and did a name check on Mr. Well and found the entire summary of his 1980 case. I then ran a Washington State Police background check (google "watch wsp") and found an entire history of Well escaping justice for all of his acts.
It seems that the only thing that the Washington State Criminal Justice and Mental Health Systems have done for him is: 1) teach him not to make a statement when arrested; and 2) know that he can cause harm to others have not be convicted.
Based on past history, figure 9 to 12 months for this to go to court; a month for a trial and finding of "no guilty by reason of insanity"; 5 years at Western State on meds . . . then right back to the community. Stay tuned - same thing again around 2016 or 2017.
Everett News | Jul 25, 2010 3:18 pm | Request removal
Unfortunately, many of the commercial background checks fail to turn-up adequate background information on folks like Mr. Well. I checked his background on one of the larger commercial sites - US Search - and it found his home address, but nothing about criminal history. I googled "Washington State Courts" and did a name check on Mr. Well and found the entire summary of his 1980 case. I then ran a Washington State Police background check (google "watch wsp") and found an entire history of Well escaping justice for all of his acts.
It seems that the only thing that the Washington State Criminal Justice and Mental Health Systems have done for him is: 1) teach him not to make a statement when arrested; and 2) know that he can cause harm to others have not be convicted.
Based on past history, figure 9 to 12 months for this to go to court; a month for a trial and finding of "no guilty by reason of insanity"; 5 years at Western State on meds . . . then right back to the community. Stay tuned - same thing again around 2016 or 2017.
Everett News | Jul 25, 2010 3:18 pm | Request removal
..Why? He should of never been turned loose. cuz of the first landlord he killed...that should of been a big clue. the guys nuts...they say not guilty by insanity should be guilty by insanity..
WeeWah Walkker | Jul 25, 2010 7:03 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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This is simple. Danger to society = Removed from society. I don't care what your mental problem is, if there is a chance you might hurt people you need to be removed from society. There is no excuse for allowing his rights to trump those of his multiple victims.
john smith | Jul 24, 2010 1:00 pm | 2 replies | Request removal
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Indeed. It is a very fine line between the rights of the individual and the rights of society. There is always a "chance" for someone to do wrong, however with his previous record it seems quite neglectful, bordering on criminal to let this type walk the streets.
david coulter | Jul 24, 2010 1:39 pm | Request removal
Yes, well, the problem is somebody -- namely John Q. Taxpayer -- gets to subsidize his room and board for the rest of his life to keep him off the street. And the average conservative simply cannot abide that.
Don't you get it? It's. A. SIN. to let a mentally ill person be cared for, because, well... they're not EARNING their room and board!
So, better to just turn them out into the streets and gutters, like Ronald Reagan did.
Because, let's face it: Americans who "matter" will have bodyguards and armored vehicles and fortressed omes to protect them from such trash.
All is in order.
Jacques Klahaya | Jul 25, 2010 2:19 am | Request removal
I'd like to know if taxpayers have been on the hook for this guys apartment and meds. It's one thing to have a medical disability that causes no harm to anyone else. It's quite another for a homicidal nutcase to be allowed around the public. Until there is an absolute guarantee of public safety I'd much rather my tax dollars be spent to cage these whack jobs.
david coulter | Jul 24, 2010 10:02 am | 3 replies | Request removal
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Yes, well, your conservative demigod Ronald Reagan felt otherwise when the fine, upstanding, greedy and selfish conservative citizens of this country demanded that he gut the services that would have prevented this "whack job" from hurting somebody.
Thank Ronnie and the Republicans for this tragedy and countless others like it. If not for them, this woman would likely be alive today.
Instead, they rose in righteous indignation that their precious and holy tax dollars were being used to give "whack jobs" free housing and food. Horrors! Outrage!
So, they dumped droves of mentally ill onto the street and into the gutters to become homeless or to survive however they could without recourse to meds or treatment.
Conservatives. Heartless and cruel and a wallet where their heart ought to be. Behold the result.
Jacques Klahaya | Jul 24, 2010 3:28 pm | Request removal
My oh my, speak of righteous indignation
david coulter | Jul 24, 2010 5:12 pm | Request removal
Well, your hateful and viscious tone led me to conclude you were a Republican, david. One thing follows the other.
You want for society to pay to keep these unfortunates locked away humanely? Then join me at the next Democratic Party caucus.
If you fail to, you're full of sheet, like most Republicans are. Long on fairy-tale wishes, short on pragmatic solutions.
Nothing new under the sun.
Jacques Klahaya | Jul 25, 2010 1:53 am | Request removal
First of all, it's appalling to see the level of downright nasty people commenting on tragedies like this. The mentally ill, like so many members of our society who are deemed "nonproductive" always get shafted...be ill, be old, be poor and too many "upstanding citizens" are ready to kick you to the curb. That is despicable.
Everyone involved in this tragedy is going through hell - all of them. Nothing can make it better for them, but we've known for a very long time that mental health care is appalling, especially for people who don't have a lot of money.
That needs to change so tragedies like this can be prevented.
nonesuch F. | Jul 24, 2010 1:21 pm | 1 replies | Request removal
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The only one who got "shafted" here was Judy Garcia. Multiple times. I see nothing "nasty" about trying to protect ourselves from individuals such as this who have no business being amongst non-murdering citizens.
david coulter | Jul 24, 2010 1:32 pm | Request removal
I can't imagine how horrible it is to not be able to help your child and to see them struggle with mental illness like that. The state definately needs to make some major changes in how they handle such cases, especially with the increase of mental illness. You would think they would have learned their lesson after the shooting up in Skagit county that took the life of a Skagit County Deputy. My condoleneces go out to the family of the victim, and also to the father of this man.
Denise Hilker | Jul 24, 2010 9:58 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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In the midst of this tragedy, I hope that more of us will write our state legislators and tell them we need more money going into our mental health system. A tragedy like this could have been prevented. My condolescences to both of the families.
Lisa Rasmussen | Jul 24, 2010 8:45 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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In the midst of this tragedy, I hope that more of us will write our state legislators and tell them we need more money going into our mental health system. A tragedy like this could have been prevented. My condolescences to both of the families.
Lisa Rasmussen | Jul 24, 2010 8:45 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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I hope that people will write their legislators for more funding for state mental health. This tragedy could have been prevented. My condolescences to both families.
Lisa Rasmussen | Jul 24, 2010 8:42 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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Steven Well was next door to the high school. How many more Steven Wells do we have in our midst? Bob Well is so right, this is the price for pinching pennies by the state. Less taxation, less government, more privacy, fewer social services, who will be next to reap the harvest of that legacy? The public safety has not been served well.
jon coulter | Jul 24, 2010 6:02 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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What a tragedy for everyone concerned.
Gold Barian | Jul 24, 2010 4:19 am | 0 replies | Request removal
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