Michigan man charged with fatal knife attack on neighbor and sexual abuse of neighbor's family

(CBS-DETROIT) – A 50-year-old man from Michigan is charged with eleven crimes in connection with the fatal stabbing of a neighbor and the sexual assault of a neighbor's wife and daughter.

According to the Oakland County District Attorney's Office, Timothy Ernest Legard of Pontiac went to a neighbor's home on Ypsilanti Avenue in Pontiac around 6 a.m. Wednesday. Legard allegedly met the neighbor outside the home, stabbed the man in his driveway, entered the home where the man's wife and daughter were getting ready for school, and then sexually assaulted them.

Officials say the man's wife and daughter were able to escape and called 911 at a neighbor's house. When officers arrived at the scene, they found the victim dead in the driveway with a stab wound to the chest. Officers with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office found Legard wandering nearby and arrested him.

Legard is charged with 11 felonies, including first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, three counts of first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.

“This was an absolutely brutal and cruel attack on a family,” Oakland County District Attorney Karen McDonald said in a statement. “First-degree murder, first-degree sexual abuse and kidnapping are crimes punishable by life imprisonment and are the most serious charges my office has brought. We will vigorously fight for justice for this family and protect the community from violent criminals.”

Legard is currently being held in the Oakland County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court this weekend.