A 33-year-old man is facing a charge of attempted murder after troopers said he repeatedly stabbed a school custodian and left him in critical condition outside a Mat-Su school.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday, troopers in Palmer got a report that Daniel Cochrane of Wasilla was attacking a man outside Meadow Lakes Elementary School, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said Friday.
Troopers say Cochrane stabbed 33-year-old Nickolas Douck multiple times, claiming Douck had an affair with his wife.
Cochrane told investigators he tracked Douck down with the intent of killing him, charging documents say. "Daniel stated he contemplated killing Nickolas with a hammer but then decided to use the knife," documents say.
On Thursday evening, Cochrane found Douck's girlfriend leaving the school where she and Douck both work as custodians. He told her to let him into the school but she refused. Cochrane wouldn't let her enter the building or leave.
Cochrane demanded she call her boyfriend and she did. When Douck went outside, he and Cochrane began to fight.
In an interview with Cochrane, charging documents say, he claimed to have stabbed Douck nine to 15 times. Douck suffered critical injuries to his heart, lungs and abdomen.
"Daniel stated that he only stopped stabbing Nickolas because it didn't seem to be working and if he had been able to kill Nickolas there at the school, he (Daniel) would have called 911 and told the police where to find the body and then left," charging documents say.
Douck's girlfriend called 911 and took Douck to the fire station on Pittman Road. He was then taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center for emergency surgery.
Cochrane also stabbed himself during the fight. Troopers pulled him over as he drove to the hospital and he admitted to the crime and handed over the knife.
After receiving treatment, Cochrane was taken to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility, where he was charged with attempted murder. Court records show Cochrane was arraigned at 1 p.m. Friday and is being held on $250,000 bail.
Tegan Hanlon contributed to this story.