Bellingham teen held as an adult in brutal beating

Bellington, Wash. — Sixteen-year-old Jacob Allan Carmickle had no expression as he made his first appearance in the Whatcom County Jail Courtroom. He was ordered held as an adult for a brutal crime. "He actually told us he thought he killed her," said Bellingham police Lt. Rick Sucee.

Sucee said the attack began at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday with Carmickle kicking and screaming at 44-year-old Wendy Zawoysky's St. Clair Street home. She opened the door, he allegedly pushed his way in and was heading up stairs where she had young child. She tried to stop him and he shoved her down the stairs. "He immediately started punching her in the face, many, many times," said Sucee. "And then he kept banging her head into the floor and at one point wrapped something around her neck and started to strangle her."

Zawoysky, who is a Bellingham veterinarian, lost consciousness. When she came to, Carmickle was gone. Detectives found his pants near her house, with his wallet inside. He managed to hitch a ride home -- nearly four miles away on Yew Street Road -- despite being naked and covered in blood. He told them he was high on marijuana and mushrooms.

The viciousness of the crime was a surprise to Zawoysky's neighbors living on what appears to be a quiet cul-de-sac. "So do you worry about that kind of thing happening here?" a KIRO 7 reporter asked neighbor John Buch. "Not in Bellingham," said Buch. "No, not at all. Really. Wouldn't even think about it."

KIRO 7 tried to talk to a man and a woman who appeared to be at court for Carmickle. The man said only, "Pray for the victim."

KIRO 7 checked the hospital -- and Zawoysky is no longer there.

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