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Man accused of torturing woman to death escapes psychiatric hospital

28-year-old Anthony Garver stands accused of stabbing a woman to death after tying her to a bed with electrical cords.

Psychiatric Facility Escape Anthony Garver AP AP

A MAN ACCUSED of torturing a woman to death but found too mentally ill for trial has escaped after crawling out of a window in a locked, lower-security unit of a Washington state psychiatric hospital already facing federal scrutiny over safety problems.

Anthony Garver, 28, escaped on Wednesday night with Mark Alexander Adams, 58, a patient who had been accused of domestic assault in 2014 and was recaptured yesterday morning, officials said. Authorities believe Garver bought a bus ticket from Seattle across the state to Spokane.

Spokane Sheriff’s Captain Dave Ellis told the Spokesman-Review Garver was spotted in the city’s East Valley and authorities were searching for him last night with police dogs, a SWAT team and helicopters.

Psychiatric Facility Escape Mark Alexander Adams riding a bus to Seattle Airport on Wednesday night AP AP

Deputy U.S. marshals told KHQ-TV that Garver showed up at his parents’ home in the area and that Garver’s mother called 911.

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich described the search as “a pretty intense situation”.

Western State Hospital says the men were discovered missing 45 minutes after they were last seen, but police said it took an hour and a half. There was no immediate way to reconcile the different timelines.

Garver was charged in 2013 with tying a 20-year-old woman to her bed with electrical cords, stabbing her 24 times in the chest and slashing her throat, Snohomish County Assistant Prosecutor Craig Matheson said.

Garver, who also has a history of running from authorities, was moved to a lower-security unit of the state’s largest psychiatric hospital after a judge said treatment to prepare him to face criminal charges was not working.

The escape is the latest in a litany of problems at the 800-bed hospital south of Tacoma, where violent assaults on both staff and patients have occurred.

Psychiatric Facility Escape Mark Alexander Adams AP AP

US regulators have repeatedly cited the facility over safety concerns and threatened to cut millions in federal funding. The Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently extended the hospital’s deadline for fixing the problems from 1 April to 3 May.

A federal judge also has said the hospital has failed to provide timely competency services to mentally-ill people charged with crimes.

A bus driver picked up a man he believed was Garver on Wednesday evening, said police, who urged anyone who spots him to stay away and contact authorities. Garver has been convicted of multiple charges and twice fled from authorities by stealing a car or leading a high-speed chase.

Missing

Garver’s lawyer, Jon Scott, said he hopes Garver “is found quickly and safely”.

Adams also got on a bus and asked the driver how to get to the airport. Someone recognized Adams, and officers picked him up without incident in a town just south of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Lakewood police Lt. Chris Lawler said.

The men were last seen at 6pm Wednesday during dinner and found missing 45 minutes later during a routine patient check, said Carla Reyes, assistant director of the Department of Social and Health Services’ Behavioral Health Administration, which oversees mental health services in the state.

Police said the absence was discovered at 7.30pm and officers were alerted just after 7.45pm.

Patients in the hospital’s lower-security unit are checked every hour, Reyes said. Garver and Adams were not placed in the high-security unit because a judge granted a state request to hold them as a danger to themselves or others after treatment failed to restore their ability to understand the criminal charges against them.

Officials are conducting a safety review of the hospital and will bring in outside experts to help, Reyes said.

“We can never have too many fresh eyes reviewing a situation as serious as this,” Reyes said in a statement.

Hourly checks

Nursing supervisor Paul Vilja said he was amazed to hear the men who escaped were assigned to a unit with hourly checks, because some of the more-dangerous patients are in units with checks every 15 minutes.

Vilja and other hospital workers objected when the hospital first required the 15-minute checks two years ago because they said staffing levels were not adequate to handle the extra duties. Workers were required to fill out forms for each check but often fell behind, so not all of them were done, Vilja said.

The state has tried to fix some of the problems by increasing funding to hire more workers. But the hospital has struggled with recruiting and retaining staffers.

The state has a history of underfunding its mental health programs, including its facilities, said Lauren Simonds, executive director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness Washington.

Despite increased federal scrutiny, assaults have persisted at the hospital, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.

A patient with a history of violent behavior choked and punched a mental health technician on 26 March, according to an internal report. Another report on 23 March said a male patient slipped out of his monitors and was found in a bathroom with another male patient, who said he was sexually assaulted.

Injured employees missed 41,301 days of work between 2010 and 2014, and on-the-job injuries forced staff to move to other jobs, like desk work, for 7,760 days during that period, according to state Occupational Safety and Health Administration records.

Workers’ compensation insurance paid $6 million (€5.3 million) in wage and medical costs for claims to injured hospital workers between January 2013 and September 2015, according to records acquired by the AP.

Read: Men exchange high-fives and take selfies after bizarre car chase

Read: France has criminalised the purchase of sex – what happened to Ireland’s sex laws?

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35 Comments
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    Mute Paul Shepherd
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    Nov 8th 2021, 8:55 AM

    ….and prosecuted?

    458
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    Mute D. Memery
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:27 AM

    @Paul Shepherd: the article says they would have to be convicted, so I’d imagine a prosecution would be required to get to that stage.

    46
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    Mute
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    Nov 8th 2021, 11:26 AM

    @Paul Shepherd: They could only punish them once they’ve been prosecuted, so yes obviously.

    27
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    Mute Brian O'Grady
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:00 AM

    Permanent ban on selling tobacco products if caught selling to minors.

    460
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    Mute Declan Doherty
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:01 AM

    What about alcohol being sold to underage kids ? It’s a far more dangerous and toxic drug and can easily kill in minutes through overdose ? Cigarettes are bad but they’re not an immediate concern. And if we’re so keen to keep dangerous drugs away from kids, why do we preserve and protect the black market that has no problem selling untested and unregulated products to anyone of any age ? It makes zero sense and as toxic as they are, Cigarettes should be the least of our concerns when it comes to drugs and children.

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    Mute Mick Dunne
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:21 AM

    @Declan Doherty: so is cigarettes

    22
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    Mute Tommy Roche
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:54 AM

    @Declan Doherty: The same laws apply where alcohol is concerned. In fact I’ve never heard of a shop being banned from selling tobacco after being caught selling to minors, but know of at least 3 pubs locally that have been ordered to close for a number of weeks for serving underage people.

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    Mute Pam
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:05 AM

    No, but they should have to pay huge fines. If they’re banned where will elderly locals who smoke go to buy their cigarettes?

    99
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    Mute Contrary Mary
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:14 AM

    @Pam: To another store, where they will buy other things. All the more reason to not sell to minors.

    123
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    Mute Rob Hunt
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    Nov 8th 2021, 12:08 PM

    @Pam: I actually think incurring the wrath of the elderly locals would be at least as much of a deterrent as the financial impact of not being able to sell them. Win win.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Nov 8th 2021, 7:15 PM

    @Pam: I agree, I don’t see why local adults should be inconvenienced simply because aome staff member failed to ask someone completely different for ID.

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    Mute Serge the llama
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:02 AM

    Heard one in the local shop the other day. Young lad asked for ID for scratch card. Well his mother came in roaring dogs abuse at the cashier for requesting ID when his 18. Why isn’t everyone asked for ID. Pointing at the long line of customers.

    Queues were building up. Everyone was looking because the customer was so loud and obnoxious. Poor cashier went bright red but didn’t back down refused to sell the scratch card and quoted the regulations in an extremely loud voice.

    Requiring a valid photo ID for anyone who is under 21. A physical driver’s license, passport or Garda age card, not the photo of one on a phone that could be photoshopped.

    On a side note most supermarkets ask for ID if someone looks under 25.

    101
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    Mute Seeking Truth
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    Nov 8th 2021, 1:18 PM

    @Serge the llama: I bought a bottle of something recently and they did not even blink an eye or ask for proof of age. A sign that I am well past that age cohort to be asked for ID LOL

    13
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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Nov 8th 2021, 5:21 PM

    @Serge the llama: I saw a boy in school uniform ask for cigarettes. He was asked for ID, he didn’t have it. He left and his mother came in roaring about being in a hurry and that it was disgraceful that the shop had asked him for ID and made her get out of her car!

    14
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    Mute DERRY1973
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:24 AM

    5 weeks off the cigarettes today, way too expensive a habit now, mind you I don’t know where all the money I saved went.

    72
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    Mute Padraic McDonagh
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:33 AM

    @DERRY1973: food! Or it least in my case I replaced one bad habit with another.

    25
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    Mute Thomas Armstrong
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    Nov 8th 2021, 2:01 PM

    @DERRY1973: Hope y stay off them. I’m 4 years now but the test is if you like the pub the drink & the cig go hand in hand in the smoking area.

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    Mute James Clifford
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    Nov 8th 2021, 6:10 PM

    @DERRY1973: congratulations and well done

    14
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    Mute Watchful Axe
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:29 PM

    @DERRY1973: All the best, I used to take out the calculator app on the phone every so often and work out the money saved as a bit of a motivator.
    It also motivates when you look back and figure you’ve smoked the price of a new car over the years, no point starting on a second car.

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    Mute Mark Howard
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:20 AM

    Or in other words persecute (yes – persecute) shopkeepers for making the odd mistake instead of the parents of these brats who are roaming the streets causing trouble. How quickly people forget they were singing the praises of retailers during the lockdown. We’re a great country for blaming the wrong person

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    Mute Jo H
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:23 AM

    @Mark Howard: it is a big jump from a teen kid taking up/trying cigarette smoking to them being br*ts who are roaming the streets to cause trouble! Have all the people you know who smoke, or are ex smokers, been that type of person?? For the record, I don’t think shops should have a their licence suspended unless a repeat offender

    34
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    Mute NoPlanetB
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:09 AM

    The way this works is they find some lad who is 6’6″ with a beard who looks 30 but is actually a teenager. They get him to ask for cigarettes in a string of shops at a busy time and when the teenager working behind the counter fails to ask for an ID the shop is nabbed.
    It is a form of entrapment. The only safe approach for shopkeepers is to get the ID from everyone, including the 60 year old granny who smokes the Superkings.

    30
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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Nov 8th 2021, 5:19 PM

    @NoPlanetB: the very fact that he looks 30 would be a mitigating factor. I work in the industry, they aren’t trying to trick people. They’ll usually send in an older looking person but in their school uniform or an older person that looks far younger. There is room for a genuine mistake being made within the regulations

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    Mute TomTraubert
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    Nov 8th 2021, 11:00 AM

    So, Hayley is having us vote on her own offence/punishment combination?

    Another journal poll fail

    Remember Hayley’s ‘do you prefer rain or sun poll’

    I reckon we should have a poll asking should Hayley be allowed to make polls

    ;-)

    24
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    Mute Rob Hunt
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    Nov 8th 2021, 12:11 PM

    @TomTraubert: Even setting aside that this is a commercial site with an editorial team and a content marketing strategy, it’s a bit nasty having a go the individual author.

    16
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    Mute TomTraubert
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    Nov 9th 2021, 11:13 AM

    @Rob Hunt: dial it down a bit there Rob fgs.

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    Mute Mike Dunne
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:28 AM

    I’ll carry on buying mine on the black market.

    23
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    Mute Tracktrack
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    Nov 8th 2021, 12:43 PM

    @Mike Dunne: Very foolish idea. Not only is it breaking the law, but those cigarettes could be counterfeit, have mould or other contamination to make them even more deadly.

    18
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    Mute Paul Cunningham
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    Nov 8th 2021, 4:00 PM

    @Tracktrack: Thats why its easier on smokers to just fly out of the country, bring back a carton or two and pocket the savings. Can you blame them doing that when the prices are so high the black market thrives?

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    Mute Liam Mc Meel
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:52 AM

    I go to the shop on a regular basis for me da with a note asking for John player blue and a lighter as me da can’t walk very far

    19
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    Mute John Mulligan
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:21 AM

    It’s a while since I heard such a ridiculous plan. Retailers should be fined €10,000 and possibly be also imprisoned for supplying a dangerous drug to children.
    A suspension is unbelievable for such a serious offence.

    29
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    Mute Mark Howard
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:43 AM

    @John Mulligan: Sounds like you could do with a smoke yourself . . .

    75
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    Mute Mick Dunne
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:19 AM

    They should be banned for good

    24
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    Mute Ballybough Marcus
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:09 AM

    Common sense says yes.

    13
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    Mute JillyBean
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:38 AM

    I think there should be an award as to which teenagers are most convicing. The award would be a packet of Benson’s finest

    11
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    Mute ed w
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:38 AM

    banned from selling them to minors for a few days or cigarettes for a few days ?

    12
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    Mute Michael Carolan
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    Nov 8th 2021, 12:04 PM

    May be it’s about time the purchase of cigarettes should be as restrictive as possible…..e.g. available on prescription from a GP and only purchased from a pharmacy. In that way, the support and advise for giving them up is immediately available. But hey, it’s easy as a non smoker to say this.

    8
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    Mute Shawn Rahoon
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    Nov 8th 2021, 1:03 PM

    Many shops in US won’t sell cigs to customers of any age unless they have some form of ID.

    5
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    Mute ChronicAnxiety
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:43 AM

    These are drugs, treat them as if thay had been dealing grass.

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    Mute Declan Doherty
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    Nov 8th 2021, 9:49 AM

    @ChronicAnxiety: Why ? Weed is harmless when compared to cigarettes and alcohol. Alcohol can kill a child in minutes. Neither weed nor cigarettes are going to do them any harm in the short term. Why would you treat them all the same when the risk is radically different.

    33
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    Mute Willie Penwright
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:50 AM

    @ChronicAnxiety: Dealing grass is a monopoly of the the crime lords and so is beyond the reach of this government.

    10
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    Mute Willie Penwright
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    Nov 8th 2021, 10:48 AM

    Great idea, practical and it would work and so cannot be tried.

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    Mute Garreth Byrne
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    Nov 8th 2021, 5:45 PM

    yes, no and don’t know do not amount to a sufficient number of possible responses. This online opinion poll has no scientific validity.

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    Mute Mikey
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    Nov 8th 2021, 12:36 PM

    No, what harm are they doing.

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    Mute Mick Curran
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    Nov 8th 2021, 6:23 PM

    A few days???
    Permanent ban, followed by prosecution and stiff penalties.

    2
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