Cole Klemke, accused of stabbing pregnant woman, appears before judge

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The man accused of stabbing a pregnant woman while she was using an ATM in Mira Mesa was formally charged Thursday.

San Diego police said the stabbing, which happened Saturday morning in a Target parking lot, was a random and unprovoked attack.

At Cole Klemke's arraignment, Assistant Prosecutor Spencer Sharpe said it appeared the 27-year-old man observed the woman from across the parking lot and approached her in what he called it a “premeditated” attack on a random stranger.

“After the victim withdrew $200 in cash, she noticed the defendant walking towards her house,” Sharpe said. “Before he grabbed his neck, he had a knife out, open, ready. He grabbed her neck and, without exchanging a word, stabbed her in the face, slit her throat, pushed her to the ground, continued to hit and stab her.

Sharpe said authorities were also investigating another incident just two weeks earlier, in which Klemke was accused of walking down the street, pulling a knife on a random person driving his car, shooting him told to “get out,” made sharp movements, then carved an “X” on the hood of the victim’s car. Charges for that incident are also consolidated into this case.

“Fortunately, the victim was able to reverse his vehicle and avoid further incidents, but we now have two random acts of violence against members of this community,” Sharpe added.

Klemke had played baseball at Torrey Pines High School and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and resided in Carmel Valley, but is now homeless.

Questions arise regarding Klemke's mental health. According to court records, Klemke's mother filed a restraining order in 2020 and said Klemke had been violent toward her family and had been on and off drugs, including methamphetamine.