Taylor victim had ended ‘short-term’ relationship with accused assailant
A man suspected of fatally stabbing one woman and sending another to the hospital donned a Halloween mask seen in the “Scream” movies, then removed it just before he started slashing, police said.
The knife-wielding assailant, accused of attacking the women after one broke off a “short-term relationship” with him, also asked a man at the scene “if he wanted some,” according to an arrest affidavit filed by Taylor police.
Those details are part of a court document obtained by the Taylor Press outlining a tragic chain of events that unfolded about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday in the 4100 block of Kings Canyon Drive.
Earlier that evening, police and other first responders had visited neighborhoods across Taylor as part of nationwide National Night Out
activities. Thomas Michael Flinders, 22, of Jarrell remained in the Williamson County Jail in Georgetown Friday charged with murder, a first-degree felony, though no bond had been set as of press time.
Jail records also indicate no other charges have been filed against Flinders, who is listed as 210 pounds and 6-feet 2-inches tall.
Ashley McMicken, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:54 p.m. after suffering multiple stab wounds, investigators said.
A second stabbing victim, identified as Kilee Schmidt, was rushed by Williamson County Emergency Medical Services to Ascension Seton Williamson Hospital in Round Rock, where officials reported her condition as stable.
According to a warrant signed by Magistrate Ryan Palmquist and affirmed by Taylor police Detective Aaron Koch, an assailant drove to the 4100 block of Kings Canyon Drive and parked not far from a home where McMicken, Schmidt and other friends gathered outside.
A witness said the man who got out of the car was “wearing a ‘Scream’ Halloween mask,” according to police. After calling out to the man, the newcomer removed the covering, officers said.
The affidavit stated McMicken had talked about problems she was having with a person she identified as “Tommy.”
In addition, according to the court document, she recently “ended a short-term relationship with the defendant but had known him for approximately a year … The victim had recently sent a message to the defendant advising him that the relationship was over.”
According to officers, the assailant brandished a knife and punctured the tire of a vehicle parked in front of the residence. One of the witnesses told police he was able to push the suspect away when the assailant tried to strike him with the knife.
The intruder stabbed Schmidt once before she could get away, investigators said. The attacker then confronted McMicken and stabbed her several times, including in the back after she fell the ground, according to the affidavit.
The knife-wielding intruder then got up from the victim, looked at one of the men, and then “called him a big guy and asked if he wanted some,” according to the warrant.
The man then walked back to his car and drove away.
Taylor police, the Taylor Fire Department and county EMS arrived on the scene, where first responders found McMicken and attempted “life-saving measures which were unsuccessful,” according to the sworn document.
Investigators worked quickly to get a warrant, and deputies with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office not long after arrested a suspected assailant at a residence in Jarrell, according to investigators.
Jarrell police also assisted in the probe, officials said.
During the investigation, police said they recovered a large kitchen knife suspected of being used in the incident. This is the first homicide of the year for Taylor.
FLINDERS
