A coastside man accused of stabbing or slicing his live-in girlfriend’s neck Thursday afternoon was out of custody pending a 45-day drunk driving sentence he received just days before.
David John Vanalstine, 56, is now facing much steeper charges of attempted murder and domestic violence when he is arraigned Monday afternoon.
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. She is expected to recover.
After being treated for an undisclosed medical condition, Vanalstine was booked into Maguire Correctional Facility on suspicion of attempted murder where he is being held without bail. Prosecutors expect to formally file charges Monday with his appearance in court that afternoon.
If so, Vanalstine will be returning to court a full week after he 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, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Authorities are releasing few details for a possible motive in Thursday’s attack but the Sheriff’s Office noted a “history of law enforcement response.”