Utah man stabs woman in Tinder meet up in ‘an attempt to kill her’
May 13, 2022, 2:18 PM | Updated: Jan 19, 2024, 2:12 pm
BOUNTIFUL, Utah — A man is in custody after stabbing two women including a woman he’d met on Tinder- in an attempt to kill her, court documents say.
The man, identified as 18-year-old Kane Fairbank, met up with the first victim at a park near Bountiful, Utah on Thursday evening.
The teen “lured the victim” to the wooded area before stabbing her multiple times.
The documents state, “Fairbank lured [the victim] using the social media application Tinder, coerced her into his vehicle, and began attacking her with a knife, stabbing her multiple times.”
The victim sustained multiple serious injuries to her hands, neck and face during that time.
The knife was later recovered and found to be a fixed blade, nearly a foot in length.
Despite her injuries, the victim continued to fight and was able to get out of the car and flee from Fairbank.
“Fairbank ran after [the victim] and stabbed her in the back as she fled. This injury was life-threatening in nature.”
The victim continued to run after being stabbed and approached several people at the park, at which point Fairbank ran away.
Police said those witnesses took action and helped create a barrier between Fairbank and the victim. Among those witnesses two were nurses and one was an EMT who provided medical care while another witness called 911.
Fairbank drove to a different location in Bountiful and stopped to dispose of the victim’s cell phone in this area and breaking his phone “in an attempt to dispose of any possible evidence,” and abandoned his car there according to police.
A short time later, Fairbank was in the neighborhood near 550 N. 500 W. in Bountiful, where he approached a 64-year-old woman and stabbed her multiple times, causing life-threatening injuries. The second victim fell to the ground and fought off Fairbank with the aid of witnesses until he fled to another area. Fairbank was spotted in a nearby neighborhood by a Good Samaritan, who detained him until he was taken into custody.
Both victims were transferred to hospitals in critical condition.
In an interview with police Fairbank, “admitted to planning victim 1’s murder. He further stated he had been planning since he started interacting with her on Tinder. Fairbank stated he invited Victim 1 to the park “with the intent of luring her into his car and killing her.”
Fairbank also admitted to disposing of victim 1’s cell phone to get rid of any evidence on her phone as well as his own phone for “the same reason.”
Fairbank stated, “he approached Victim 2 with the intent of killing her as well. Fairbank said he stabbed Victim 2 multiple times, but when he observed other people running to her aid, he fled the scene. Fairbank admitted that Victim 2 was a stranger to him. Fairbank further admitted that he targeted Victim 2 because she was elderly, alone.”
Fairbank is in custody and may face the following charges: two counts of attempted murder, two counts of obstruction of justice, and one count of aggravated kidnapping according to court documents.
The documents state, Fairbank, “would constitute a substantial danger to another individual or to the community, or is likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court if released on bail.”
Fairbank admitted to planning to continue to kill other people after he killed victim 1.
“Fairbank explained his desire to continue to kill people who he thought were vulnerable. Fairbank talked in length about killing his parents and siblings with a pick ax that he had at his house. Fairbank is a clear danger to the public and even stated that if he was released he would continue his plans to kill. Fairbank planned to utilize social media applications to find and identify possible victims.”