Arrest after home invasion and stabbing in Kelowna – Kelowna News

UPDATE: 11:17 am

Kelowna Mounties say they have now made an arrest in connection with a home invasion and stabbing that occurred Saturday afternoon.

The violent attack occurred shortly after 1 p.m. at a home in Kelowna's Kelglen Crescent neighborhood, and an arrest was made shortly after 3 p.m. that day, police said.

The suspect, Morgan Marie Smith, 24, was charged with aggravated assault and remains in custody. Smith is scheduled to appear in Kelowna court at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 10.

“The victim and her family are receiving the necessary support as she recovers from her injuries,” Cpl. Michael Gauthier said in a news release.

“We congratulate our officers and medical staff for their life-saving work. Our investigators continue to work tirelessly to prepare the necessary information for tomorrow's court.”

ORIGINAL 10:10 am

A Kelowna family is struggling to come to terms with the attack Saturday afternoon that left one of their number seriously injured.

Albert Batandolo said he was in the house he shares with his family on Kelglen Crescent when he heard his sister-in-law, Tanya Gonvalen, screaming from the kitchen.

When he saw her, she was bleeding heavily from numerous stab wounds.

According to Batandolo, Gonvalen's husband was outside for just a few moments, trying to chase the person who came into the house through the back door. The attacker, he said, was a woman wearing a hoodie and brandishing a knife – a complete stranger.

“The door had been left open and she was able to get in easily,” Batandolo said.

Gonvalen is currently in Kelowna General Hospital recovering from five stab wounds. Looking at her bandages, she said one is in her right shoulder, another in her left arm and two in her chest.

“One of the stab wounds pierced a lung,” she said, adding that a chest tube was draining blood from her lungs.

After the attack, she doesn't remember much except that she felt the blood rushing through her body as she ran and that the pain eventually set in. After the attack, she woke up in the hospital, but the memory of her attacker and the attack is something she won't soon forget.

As she closes her eyes and tries to sleep, the image of the woman approaching her overwhelms her and fear takes over again.

Batandolo's wife, who also lives in the house, feels the same way.

“She doesn't even go to the bathroom at night. She wakes me up to go with her,” he said.

Batandolo has heard from his neighbors that they have never seen anything like this in the area before, but they don't think they can stay there much longer.

If nothing else, they at least want others to know to “always lock the door and always check security,” he said.

The RCMP has not yet confirmed the incident, but said it is working on a press release regarding the reports circulating on social media. The story will be updated once the RCMP issues a statement.