help_outline Skip to main content

DSA In the News

Hospitalization postpones attempted murder case

Published on 12/7/2010


The coastside man accused of stabbing his live-in girlfriend in the neck just days after being sentenced to jail in an unrelated case will appear in court Wednesday on attempted murder and knife use charges.

David John Vanalstine, 56, remains hospitalized with an undisclosed medical condition and hasn’t been cleared yet for booking into Maguire Correctional Facility, said District Attorney Jim Fox. 

Vanalstine, also spelled Vanalsteine in court records, is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday afternoon on charges in the Thursday attack on his 56-year-old girlfriend.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Vanalstine Dec. 2 after responding to a 911 call by his 56-year-old girlfriend at approximately 4:43 p.m. The woman told dispatchers she had been stabbed by her boyfriend who was still inside her mobile home. Deputies found her outside the Pillar Ridge Estates residence with a “traumatic injury” to her neck and Vanalstine also at the scene. Both were taken to the hospital where the woman underwent surgery and is expected to recover. Vanalstine was also treated for his medical condition. 

Sheriff’s Office has disclosed several previous visits to the residence but stopped short of saying if they were also related to domestic violence. According to court records, in May 2009, Vanalstine was scheduled for a hearing on firearms confiscated by the Sheriff’s Office. 

Also, last Monday, Vanalstine was sentenced to 45 days in jail for a 2010 misdemeanor drunk driving conviction with priors. Judge Cliff Cretan stayed the sentence until Jan. 22.

Vanalstine is being guarded at the hospital and held on no-bail status.