PREVIOUSLY: 

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:


On Oct. 9, 2022, at about 3:16 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence on the 4500 block of Chaffin Road in McKinleyville for the report of a stabbing.

Deputies arrived at the residence and located a 51-year-old male victim with serious injuries and an uninjured adult female. The victim was transported to a local hospital and is expected to recover. Upon further investigation, deputies learned that the suspect, 54-year-old David Matthew Bellugue, recently moved in and had been living at victim’s residence. At the time of the incident, the victim and the female were reportedly speaking in a private room when Bellugue entered the room and physically assaulted the victim with a knife. Bellugue then fled the residence.

Sheriff deputies, with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol, searched the surrounding community for Bellugue. CHP Officers located and detained Bellugue in the area of Clam Beach and Dows Prairie Roads.

Bellugue was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of attempted murder (PC 664/187(a)).

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.