LANCASTER, Pa. — UPDATE, 11:25 a.m.: Police have charged James Michael Sterbinsky, 59, of the 500 block of High Street, with two counts of criminal homicide and one count of attempted criminal homicide in the incident.
Sterbinsky is related to the three victims, two of whom died in the attack.
Police have identified the deceased as Christine Ross, 53, who is Sterbinsky’s sister, and Autumn Ross, 20, who is his niece.
Sterbinsky’s nephew, Christopher Jacyszyn, 33, was also stabbed in the back and suffered a punctured lung, according to police. Jacyszyn is currently in Lancaster General Hospital in critical condition, police say.
Jacyszyn was able to escape on foot from the scene and told police Sterbinsky, was the suspect.
Police say Christine Ross suffered multiple stab wounds to her arms and chest, and a large pool of blood was found in the area of her lower torso and between her legs.
Autumn Ross suffered multiple stab wounds to her upper body, according to police. She was pronounced dead about two hours after arriving at Lancaster General Hospital, police say.
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A second person has died from injuries sustained in the incident, according to Lancaster Police.
The second victim was a 20-year-old female, who died of her injuries at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital, police say.
The first victim was a 53-year-old woman, according to police.
A suspect has been located and is in custody, police say, but the suspect has not yet been identified by police.
Both victims were found in a home on the 500 block of High Street Thursday night, police say.
Police have not identified the victims.
The following details about the incident have been released:
Police responded to the 500 block of High Street at 10:38 p.m. Thursday for the report of a stabbing. As officers were traveling to the scene, they heard from dispatch that a man was seen walking on High Street with an apparent stab wound in the back. He had reportedly left the scene on foot, police say. The man was described as a bearded male wearing jeans and boots. He was found by officers responding to the scene, and directed them to the home where the incident occurred, telling them other people had been stabbed inside the home and were injured, police say.
The 33-year-old male victim was transported to Lancaster General Hospital for treatment, and is listed in critical condition as of Friday morning, according to police.
When they entered the home, police found two additional victims: the 53-year-old woman, who appeared to be deceased, and the 20-year-old second victim, who was transported to LGH, where she later died of her injuries, police say.
Officers at the scene were told that two children that had been inside the home at the time of the incident, and were able to flee to a neighbor’s home, where the neighbor was watching them. The children were located and found to be unharmed, according to police.
Police found relatives of the children to watch over them, according to police.
While at the scene, police say, officers were able to find the name of a suspect, who was later located near the intersection of South Prince and West Vine streets and taken into custody.
Officers and investigators are still the scene at High Street, and the investigation is ongoing.
