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Unalaska Police Find Stabbing Assailant After Two-Day Search

Unalaska Department of Public Safety

 

On Saturday, after a two-day search, officers at Unalaska's Department of Public Safety located a local man accused of stabbing someone late last week. 

On April 30, officers received a request for an ambulance for a 29-year-old victim of a stabbing. According to the department, Cody Merrifield said he was stabbed after an argument with 35-year-old Daylen Luff.  

According to the initial police report, Merrifield stated Luff showed up at his house to shower and do laundry, and refused to leave. 

"[Merrifield] stated the defendant 'squared up' in a posture to fight and he punched the defendant and kicked his backpack," said the report. "[Merrifield] stated the defendant then reached into the bag and stabbed him in the chest and right side of his abdomen."

Before driving away, Luff proceeded to stab Merrifield's smartphone and front tire.

According to the report, Luff said he went to Merrifield's house to smoke heroin, but they got into a fight. He said he grabbed a white-handled Victorinox serrated knife that was sticking out of his bag, but stated "he did not remember stabbing [Merrifield] with the knife."

Officers reported a quarter-inch slash mark on Merrifield's chest, near his sternum, and an approximately one-inch puncture wound to the right side of his abdomen, about four inches from his bellybutton.

Merrifield was medevaced to Anchorage for life-threatening injuries, where he's reported to be in stable condition, according to the department. Staff at Iliuliuk Family and Health Services (IFHS) said his intestines were punctured. 

Officers attempted to locate Luff that day, but were unsuccessful. On Saturday, May 2, however, officers located him asleep on a vessel docked at the Robert 'Bobby' Storrs International Small Boat Harbor. 

Luff was arrested and has been charged with a Class A felony for causing serious injury with a weapon, a Class C felony for damage to property, and a Class B misdemeanor for trespassing. 

His next court appearance is scheduled for June 16 at the Unalaska Courthouse. 

 

CORRECTION: This article has been corrected to reflect that Luff had previously pleaded guilty of misdemeanor harassment for unwanted touching in an unrelated incident in 2015. An earlier version had reported he’d been previously convicted of felony sexual assault. KUCB regrets the error.

 

Hope McKenney is a public radio news director, reporter, producer and host based in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
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