Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Nathaniel David Ferguson, 24, is charged with aggravated assault in Salt Lake City.
- The victim, a 37-year-old man, suffered severe stomach injuries, requiring multiple surgeries.
- Witnesses reported both men said they loved each other before the stabbing occurred.
SALT LAKE CITY — A man was charged Tuesday with stabbing another man in the stomach — possibly because the other man asked him to — causing near-fatal injuries.
Nathaniel David Ferguson, 24, whose address is listed as unknown, is charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, a second-degree felony.
On Jan. 16, Salt Lake police responded to a report of a stabbing near 1470 S. State. Officers arrived to find a 37-year-old man wrapped in a blanket with a serious cut to his stomach.
Officers saw the victim had "a deep slash to the stomach which caused the male's intestines to come out," according to charging documents. "Medical staff confirmed that the stab wound appeared to have been from the front of the stomach, going all the way to the back side of the victim, possibly striking the spinal cord."
At one point, medical staff at the hospital said they had to stop working on the man to see if he would survive before providing additional surgery, the charges state. He did, and another surgery was performed the next day.
When questioned, Ferguson told detectives he and the man were "hanging out" on State Street "and decided to have a gang meeting," the charges state. Ferguson says the man told him to stab him. Witnesses told police they heard the man tell Ferguson "I love you" during the incident.
"Witnesses stated that they heard the victim and (Ferguson) tell each other they loved one another, at which point they turned to observe (Ferguson) push the knife into the victim's stomach," according to the charges.
Witnesses also told police that both men were observed holding the knife but doctors did not find any defensive wounds on the victim. Those witnesses say they had to step on Ferguson's hand and use tear gas on Ferguson before he would drop the knife.
Correction: The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office filed amended information on Wednesday stating the victim lost a lot of blood, but did not receive 19 liters of blood at the hospital as a previous article quoted from charging documents.
