Life in Jail for the Man Who Stabbed Four People and Killed Two in 2020 at the Carmichael Recovery Center
A man was given a life term by a judge in Sacramento Superior Court on Thursday after he went on a stabbing spree at a wellness center in Carmichael that killed two people, including a blind intern, and seriously hurt two others.
Martín Lackey-Garcia, 44, was found guilty last month of two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder in the attack at the Wellness and Recovery Center in February 2020. Prosecutors said the jurors also found true special circumstances for more than one murder.
In his opening comments, Lackey-Garcia said that his family pushed him to go to the center for help after he told them he was being followed and that his phone had been hacked. He acted as his lawyer in court.
It wasn’t planned, but the suspect went to see Elizabeth Waits, a rehabilitation mentor, on the day of the attack. But Lackey-Garcia got meaner during the meeting, which is what made Waits ask her coworkers for help, according to the evidence.
Eileen Stanwick, a coworker, came into the office to help. The 53-year-old woman was killed by Lackey-Garcia, who officials say stabbed her at least six times and then turned his knife on the receptionist Tracy Drake. Drake heard Stanwick’s screams and ran over to help her.
Drake was stabbed several times, breaking her ribs and collapsing a lung as Lackey-Garcia launched his attack. Paul McIntyre, 57, another worker who is blind, ran over with his cane to help as well.
He did, though, stab McIntyre. Police say he died at the scene.
Lackey-Garcia followed Charles McLellan, the head of the center, outside and cut his forearm very deeply. The Sacramento Bee said in a previous story that McLellan lost some hand movement.
Lackey-Garcia was going to be sent to state prison on Friday, but he was being held at the city jail instead.