Document text
Hatchet-wielding attacker on the loose Martin Lindgren Bennett BY JIM DAVIS WHITE CITY -- A hatchet-wielding man was still on the loose late Tuesday after he allegedly attacked his girlfriend and her estranged husband. Jess "Butch" Martin, 51, is accused of hacking at David Bruce Lindgren, 41, and Nancy Carol Bennett, 45, in the early-morning attack. Martin attacked Lindgren and Bennett because he suspected a love triangle, said Sherrell Burton, Bennett's daughter. "This came out of jealousy and rage," Burton said. Lindgren, who travels the West Coast as a carnival worker, was in the intensive care unit at Providence Medford Medical Center Tuesday suffering from a broken jaw, a fractured skull and two cuts to his face, said Jackson County sheriff's Lt. Dewey Patten. Bennett, who lives in White City and works as a temporary laborer, was treated and released from the hospital after receiving dozens of stitches for a cut from her lower lip to the bottom of her chin, Patten said. Jackson County sheriff's deputies said they did not think Martin posed an immediate risk to other people, but said he was still dangerous. "We're certainly considering him armed, because the hatchet wasn't found at the scene," Patten said. "He probably discarded it, but he might still have it." Burton, who spoke with her mother about the attack, said the problems began Monday afternoon. Martin and Bennett had dated for about a month and he had moved into the home that she rents at 3110 Ave. A in White City, Burton said. Bennett is still married to Lindgren, although they had been separated for months. Lindgren, who was in town for the Jackson County Fair, showed up unexpectedly at the house at about 4 p.m. Monday, Burton said. "He came over just to talk to my mom," Burton said. Bennett asked her boyfriend to leave the home for a few days. They began arguing and Bennett went next door to her landlord's home and called her boyfriend, asking him to go. By 8 p.m., Martin finally left, but apparently he just went to stew in an old van on the property. Burton said her mother and her stepfather were not getting back together. Even so, Martin came into the house after 1 a.m. with a hatchet and attacked Lindgren, who was asleep in a chair in the living room. Bennett rushed into the room to stop Martin, but he allegedly hit her in the face with the blade of the hatchet. Bennett and John Dyhrmann, 42, a roommate, pushed Martin out of the house, then called police. Patten said deputies arrived and found Lindgren conscious but covered in blood. Deputies also found that Martin had left. A warrant was issued for his arrest Tuesday afternoon charging him with first- and second-degree assault. "We're kind of waiting for a lead on where he might be," Patten said. "We really don't have any idea of where he might go." Burton said Martin called her about 4 a.m. Tuesday, trying to explain what had happened. "He called me to say that he still loved my mom," Burton said. "The psychopath." Burton, who works at a mill, said Martin had slapped her mother earlier, but she had not reported it. `Hopefully this is an eye-opener," Burton said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA