Robert Maxwell says he’ll never forget what he saw and heard inside a hallway at Safe Harbor Inn Tuesday.
“She looked me in the eyes and said, ‘I need you to kill me,’” he said.
Court documents confirm Maxwell’s description of the brief conversation he had with 40-year-old Tracia Hetty Jordan-Sainte.
More disturbing, Maxwell, said is that the woman was half-naked from the waist up. Concerned, he said he went down to the building’s front desk to alert staff members.
“It was upsetting,” Maxwell said. “I knew something bad had happened.”
What he didn’t know was that Jordan-Sainte’s 3-year-old son was lying on the floor of their room covered in blood, the result of a slice across the neck.
Police said the mother admitted to stabbing her son. Charging documents released Wednesday said Jordan-Sainte wanted to die with her son.
According to prosecutors, Jordan-Sainte reached for a pair of scissors and made “jabbing motions” at her neck in an attempt to commit suicide.
Staff members were able to wrestle the scissors away from the woman.
Jordan-Sainte was formally charged Wednesday with first-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault.
It’s still unclear what motivated the alleged attack. Jordan-Sainte is being held at the Anchorage Jail on a $500,000 bail. Her son’s condition has improved following surgery.
Prosecutors say he is in state custody.
* Safe Haven Inn offers transitional housing for the homeless and their families. According to its website it also serves people with mental disabilities.
Anyone who feels they are suffering from a mental illness or disorder is encouraged to seek guidance. Here are two area organizations with services addressing a variety of needs:
Thread Alaska resource
Services for families: Click here
ACMHS resource
Programs and services: Click here