The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Local man charged with attempted murder
Detective says it's a miracle Stephen Kozmiuk survived attack
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 6, 2008
Shortly after midnight Feb. 26, Saline Police found 33-year-old Timothy Becktel standing outside his apartment on North Ann Arbor Street with blood on his shirt and boots.
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Nearby, Stephen Kozmiuk, 25, lay facedown on the snow in a puddle of blood.
"I stabbed him," Becktel told police, according to reports. "I killed him."
As Officer Steve Maag approached the victim, Kozmiuk rolled over and the officer could see his chest rising.
Suffering from dozens of knife slashes, including two serious lacerations to his buttocks and neck, Kozmiuk was taken by Huron Valley Ambulance to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Saline, where he was put into an induced coma and was expected to recover.
He was released from the hospital on Sunday, according to police.
"It's a miracle that he lived through it due to the enormous amounts of cuts," said Saline Detective Don Lupi.
Becktel was arraigned Feb. 27 on charges of attempted murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and assault with a dangerous weapon. The felony charges carry a minimum of four years up to life in prison.
Becktel remains in the Washtenaw County Jail, where he is being held without bail pending a preliminary hearing Tuesday.
Police said it remains unclear what prompted the assault, but that the altercation appeared to have started in the apartment and moved out into the parking lot.
At the time of his arrest, Becktel requested a lawyer and said he didn't want to talk with police.
Becktel called police at about 12:20 a.m. Feb. 26 and said he had just stabbed someone at his apartment.
Police recovered a large knife that appeared to have blood on it in Becktel's apartment along with a matching sheath. Police said Becktel had a large collection of knives.
The two men were acquaintances and were drinking in Becktel's apartment before the assault, police said.
The incident is the second violent crime in Saline in just over a month. In January, Robert Green was beaten to death in his Sheffield Square home. Green's nephew, Jason Grondon, is awaiting trial for the murder.
Kozmiuk's mother, Deborah, said her son was doing better.
"It was a horrifying ordeal," she said. "He's thankful to be home and thankful to be alive."
Staff Writer Brian Cox can be reached at 429-7380 or bcox@heritage.com.
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