Man, 24, accused of stabbing sleeping parents

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI — Waking up in the middle of the night to find her husband stabbed, a Mount Pleasant woman grabbed a curling iron and swung it at the attacker.

The attacker then turned his attention and his knife to the woman, stabbing her in turn.

The attacker eventually fled his victims' home and was quickly arrested by police in another county. The suspect, the adult son of the stabbing victims, now faces federal charges.

Related: Parents wake up to son stabbing them in Mount Pleasant home, police say

On May 25, around 4 a.m., Isabella County Sheriff's deputies responded to an assault on a home in the 1800 block of South Winn Road in Deerfield Township. The house is on the Isabella Indian Reservation.

The married victims said their son, Ethan J. Prill, 24, came into their bedroom while they were sleeping. Prill lives with his parents, records show.

The husband said he woke up to his wife screaming. His son stood over him, stabbing him in the head, chest and hand. His wife grabbed a curling iron and hit his son with it, forcing him to stop his attack.

Prill stabbed his mother in the stomach and hand before her husband managed to chase Prill from the room. Prill ran outside and fled in a Kia Optima, according to reports.

Investigators pinged Prill's cell phone and quickly located him in Clinton County. They arrested him while he was still wearing a bloody shirt, according to reports.

In the Optima, police found two knives; one with a broken handle and the other with a bent blade, the state reports.

On May 28, Prill was arraigned in Isabella County District Court on two counts of assault with intent to murder. Prosecutors dismissed the charges the next day as Prill's case moved into federal jurisdiction.

Prill first appeared before U.S. District Judge Patricia T. Morris on May 29, where the judge told him he had been charged with three counts of assault with intent to cause harm. serious bodily injury. The charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Morris granted defense attorney Bryan J. Sherer's request that Prill undergo a psychological evaluation to assess his competency for trial. Morris also ordered Prill detained until his trial.