Inmate says he can't remember '01 attack

UTAH STATE PRISON — A man who stabbed a Wal-Mart employee eight times with a large kitchen knife in 2001 says to this day he can't remember committing the crime.

Paulson Tsosie, 27, is serving time for attempted murder and aggravated assault after he walked into the Washington City store and attacked Kimberly Davis. Davis was hospitalized with wounds to her head and chest.

At the time of the attack, the Washington County sheriff said Tsosie told deputies he wanted to kill as many people as he could. On Thursday, Tsosie couldn't even give explanations to the Board of Pardons and Parole during a hearing.

"I remember being in the parking lot. I thought I went home and went to sleep," Tsosie said. "I remember waking up in jail."

The only explanation Tsosie has ever given the Board of Pardons and Parole was that he was in a "blackout stage," said hearing officer Jennifer Bartell.

"The board is trying to desperately understand what about Mr. Tsosie led to the events of that night," she said. Throughout the hearing, Tsosie appeared puzzled by some of Bartell's most basic questions about the attack. He appeared to struggle with remembering what happened. Despite reports that say Tsosie had no drugs or alcohol in his system, Tsosie claimed he had been binge drinking that night, downing "an 18 pack and another 12 pack." "I was in a store trying to purchase more alcohol. The lady at the cash register said I was too drunk," he said. "Either that or I was too late. I remember walking through the parking lot."

Bartell asked him if alcohol abuse was a problem, given his claims of a "blackout."

"I do, in a way, see this is a problem. I do, sort of, take responsibility for what happened with that lady," he said. A prison psychological report about how dangerous Tsosie would be if released offered no more explanation, Bartell said. Since he's been incarcerated, Tsosie has had a number of disciplinary problems in prison. Tsosie told her he preferred to be in isolation in the prison.

Bartell recommended he use some of the prison programs for dealing with substance abuse before coming back for another parole hearing in a year.

"You're the key to all of this," she said. "Getting treatment for substance abuse. These issues are locked up inside of you."

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