TACOMA, Wash. — The cousin of a man accused of stabbing a pastor of a Tacoma church led police to the man, and though he said knows he did the right thing, he is still bothered by what he had to do.
After the pastor of the Slavic Christian Center, Peter Sayenko, was stabbed and punched in the face Tuesday night, his attacker fled.
“When I walked in there was just like puddles of blood, and I’m like, 'whoa,'” said Sayenko’s son, Stan Sayenko.
Police said Peter Sayenko’s attacker, Ivan Zaytsev, ranted about his unhappy marriage and blamed Sayenko, who was the pastor at his wedding.
“My dad's face is scratched, and then his nose broke,” said Sayenko’s son.
While the pastor was in the hospital, his family heard that Saytsev had threatened another attack
While police searched for Zaytsev, the pastor's large and tight-knit family was on watch overnight.
“I had my friend over, and my cousins over, and we just kind of took turns (sleeping). I mean, we were up all night,” said Stan Sayenko.
Meanwhile, Sergey Prokopovich, Zaytsev’s cousin, said he had a feeling that Zaytsev was at a motel off Interstate 5.
Prokopovich found him there and confronted him.
“I asked him, ‘Why did you do it? Why did you stab the pastor?’” said Prokopovich. “And there was nothing. It was like I didn’t exist for him.”
Prokopovich said his cousin has had a hard time keeping a job, and he thought Zaytsev had moved to the motel with his wife and three kids.
When Prokopovich found him, he knew he had to call police.
"I have to call cops on my own brother, (my) cousin," said Prokopovich.
Prokopovich said he hopes his cousin gets some mental help.
Sayenko is now recovering at home.
His son said the pastor has already forgiven his attacker.