EXCLUSIVE Witness: Suspect “Happy” and “Drinking Beer” Hours Before Stabbing — New Documents Obtained by OSN Show Potential Marshal Conflict

By Hilde Kate Lysiak 

October 9, 2019  

Four days after a violent suspect fled from law enforcement new details have emerged about both the suspect and a potential conflict of interest with the chief law enforcement officer of the town.  

The OSN exclusively interviewed a friend of suspect Charles Van Nest, 40, who saw him just hours before he allegedly stabbed a local woman in the throat several times on Saturday night.  

According to the friend, who requested to remain anonymous, Van Nest stopped by his house at 6:00pm on Friday night, the same night he allegedly stabbed a woman in the neck several times, acting very joyful.  

“He came over very happy and said, I feel like drinking some beers tonight. Then I remembered I had someone coming over and he left,” the source told the Orange Street news.  

He reportedly stayed for a short time then left at 6pm still very happy.  

Asked if he thought that Van Nest could ever commit a violent crime like this one, the friend remarked, “I was shocked. These are two people who are very good friends of mine. I love [victim]… She was like a daughter to me.” 

A source also indicated that the suspect had a well-known problem with prescription drugs that would change his behavior.  

Meanwhile, new information obtained by the OSN shows a potential conflict of interest with Marshal Joseph Patterson, the lead investigator in the crime, who has come under fire for withholding important information that could have helped apprehend the suspect — even hanging up the phone on a reporter at the Nogales International.

The OSN has obtained the Arizona New Hiring Form which lists the suspect’s mother as the contact name for the Town of Patagonia upon Marshal Joseph Patterson’s hiring.  This isn’t a unusual in itself — his mother is a long-time worker for the town.

But it would be forty eight hours after the alleged crime before a picture of the suspect would be given to media — and it came not from the Patagonia Marshal’s office — but from the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s office, who wasn’t even lead on the case. During the first two days the Marshal’s office refused to identify the suspect — despite a witness of the crime — or release a picture to the community, giving the suspect a valuable head-start.

The OSN was able to confirm the suspect’s identity to the community without the help of law enforcement.

The suspect, who has relatives in law enforcement, was also involved in kidnapping in  1999, however the only court records publicly available are his divorce and traffic tickets. Asked for the records Santa County Cruz Attorney George Silva referred all questions back to Marshal Patterson.

The OSN has repeatedly called, texted, and visited the Marshal’s office for comment. When the OSN asked a worker by the Marshal’s office, interrupting her conversation about her favorite foods. The worker responded with annoyance, falsely telling the OSN that publishing the story would be “illegal” because it was a “medical call.”

Back in February the OSN was warned by Marshal Patterson himself that she would be “thrown into juvie” for recording him in public. He added that he “didn’t want to hear about that First Amendment stuff.”

  

The Orange Street News has received the name of the victim, but is withholding from publishing or the location of the hospital. Sources told the OSN that the victim is expected to survive.

Sources told the OSN that the victim knew her attacker and that the 911 call was made by the victim’s daughter.

“It is a domestic situation,” a source told the OSN.

If you have any information please contact Hilde Lysiak at hildelysiak@com