ST PAUL, Minn. — A St. Paul man is facing multiple murder charges after allegedly stabbing two people in the basement of a sober home on Oct. 20.
According to a criminal complaint, 32-year-old Joseph Sandoval II was charged on Friday with two counts of second-degree murder. According to St. Paul Police, the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victims as 40-year-old Jason Murphy and 56-year-old Jon Wentz.
Police responded to the home on the 1100 block of Lawson Avenue around 4:30 on Thursday, Oct 20. According to the complaint, officers located Sandoval with blood on his clothing and cuts to his face and hands. Prosecutors allege Sandoval told officers that he had ingested fentanyl and "was hearing noises."
The two victims, Murphy and Wentz, were located in the basement of the home with "multiple lacerations and stab wounds," and investigators located a bloody knife and hammer at the scene, court documents said.
After Sandoval was treated at the hospital, he was transported to the Ramsey County Jail. According to the complaint, Sandoval has multiple pending felony charges for assault and burglary and was conditionally released on those charges after being found incompetent on June 1, 2021.
During his first appearance Monday morning, court records show a judge ordered an evaluation to determine in Sandoval is competent enough for criminal proceedings to continue.
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