MAN CHARGED IN MOTHER'S SLAYING; DEPUTIES QUESTION INJURED FATHER, VIDEOTAPE JAILED SON.Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer Prosecutors filed murder and attempted murder In the criminal law, attempted murder is committed when the defendant does an act that is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the crime of murder and, at the time of these acts, the person has a specific intention to kill. charges Monday against a Stevenson Ranch Stevenson Ranch, California (in the 91381 ZIP Code) is a Los Angeles County, USA, unincorporated community west of Santa Clarita a few miles south of Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. The Stevenson Ranch fountain was redone in 2007. man who authorities say fatally stabbed his mother, knifed his father and then held sheriff's deputies at bay for hours. Michael Tonnessen, 24, will be arraigned today in Newhall Municipal Court, said Deputy District Attorney Ken Barshop. Tonnessen is accused of killing his mother, Theresa Tonnessen, 51, and wounding his father, Kurt Tonnessen, 54. The wife died at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, and the husband was treated there for his injuries. Sheriff's homicide detectives questioned the son in jail and the father in the hospital, Barshop said. ``(Kurt Tonnessen) has not been fully interviewed because of his injuries,'' he said. The suspect, meanwhile, made a statement in a videotaped interview with sheriff's investigators. ``It would not be classified as a confession A Confession is a short work on questions of religion by Leo Tolstoy. It was first distributed in Russia in 1882. Consisting of autobiographical notes on the development of the author's belief, A Confession ,'' Barshop said, noting he hadn't seen the tape but had been briefed on it. ``There are parts (when) he was hysterical. (Detectives) have told me he was very emotional,'' Barshop added. Authorities also took a urine sample from Michael Tonnessen to determine whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs when the stabbings took place, Barshop said. ``I can't tell you exactly how many hours after the incident'' the sample was collected, he added. ``The body metabolizes alcohol, so it may be absolutely meaningless.'' Michael Tonnessen barricaded himself in the family's Coleridge Place home for 4-1/2 hours before a sheriff's special weapons team lobbed tear gas tear gas, gas that causes temporary blindness through the excessive flow of tears resulting from irritation of the eyes. The gas is used in chemical warfare and as a means for dispersing mobs. grenades inside and forced his surrender. The stabbings took place just after midnight, and deputies captured Tonnessen at 4:30 a.m. Sunday. Authorities recovered a kitchen knife they believe to be the murder weapon. The attacks happened indoors and outdoors, Barshop said. ``I believe they took place on the steps on the stairway inside the house and on the outside. That's a possibility - that (Michael Tonnessen) chased her outside.'' It wasn't clear what prompted the violent outburst. ``Whether he was under a diminished capacity This doctrine recognizes that although, at the time the offense was committed, an accused was not suffering from a mental disease or defect sufficient to exonerate him or her from all criminal responsibility, the accused's mental capacity may have been diminished by intoxication, , whether he was not of sound mind - who knows at this point?'' Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Coroner's office performed an autopsy Monday on Theresa Tonnessen, said coroner's spokesman Scott Carrier Scott Carrier is an American author and radio producer. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. Written work
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