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REGIONAL: Officials issue update on fatal knife attack that killed two, injured two others
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – On Monday the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office issued new details on a 19-year-old Laytonville resident's fatal attack on the family with which he was staying.
Talen Clark Barton is alleged to have used a 12-inch kitchen knife to stab to death two people and seriously wounded two others in the incident, which began at about 12:15 a.m. Sunday at a Laytonville home.
Officials identified Laytonville residents Coleman Palmieri, 52, and his 17-year-old son Teo Palmieri as the two people who died at the scene of their injuries.
The names of the remaining victims have not been released. They include a 54-year-old woman from Laytonville and a 52-year-old male from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, both of whom were stabbed, and two uninjured young female teens, a 14-year-old from Laytonville and a 15-year-old from St. John's, Newfoundland, officials said.
Barton remains in the Mendocino County Jail, charged with two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of false imprisonment. He's being held without bail, according to jail records.
At approximately 12:46 a.m. Sunday the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from the 46000 block of South Meadow Lane in Laytonville. Officials said the call was made by a female juvenile who was trying to summon aid to the location.
Within a short period of time a male – later identified as Barton – took over the call and a lengthy conversation with dispatchers ensued, officials said.
The sheriff's office said that during this conversation Barton admitted to stabbing four people in the home, with two of those persons having died and the other two needing medical aid for life-threatening wounds.
A Mendocino County Sheriff's dispatcher obtained driving directions and, as responding deputies arrived, talked the suspect into placing the knife down and exiting the residence where he surrendered without incident, according to the sheriff's report.
After securing Barton, deputies made a protective sweep of the residence. In the downstairs area of the house they located two female juveniles. There, deputies also found the wounded 54-year-old female and the 52-year-old male, both of them with multiple life-threatening stab wounds to the neck and chest.
Upstairs, the deputies located Coleman and Teo Palmieri, both deceased. Both appeared to have suffered multiple stab wounds about the neck and chest, according to the report.
Medical aid was summoned and Laytonville Fire and Cal Fire responded. Officials said both surviving adult victims were transported via air ambulance to nearby trauma centers, one to Redding Mercy Hospital and the second to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Sheriff's officials learned the surviving adults in the home were siblings, with the adult male and his daughter recently arriving from Canada to visit family members and to attend a local summer camp for youth.
The two surviving juveniles – who are cousins – later were taken into protective custody by Child Protection Services until they could be placed with other family members, the sheriff's office said.
The Canadian authorities were notified of the incident and have been working with the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office and CPS to make notifications as well as reunification efforts, based on the report.
The sheriff's office said Barton was reported to have been in the foster placement system and had been living with the family on Meadow Lane for more than a year.
It is unknown if he was “officially” placed with the family by a Child Protective Services agency. The family was described by many as having taken him Barton in and was trying their best to make a home for him as well as recently trying to help him get enrolled in college in Humboldt County.
Barton admitted to being a heavy marijuana user but denied using any other controlled substances. There were no other controlled substances found at the scene, according to the sheriff's office report.
At this time there is no clear motive for the attacks, officials said.
The investigation is continuing and Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is requesting that anyone with pertinent information contact the Sheriff's Office Detectives Division at 707-463-4111 or the tip line at 707-234-2100.