ALBERTVILLE, AL – A quiet evening of cooking and watching television turned violent inside an Albertville apartment when a man allegedly attacked his host, slitting his throat and stabbing him multiple times, according to authorities and the victim’s account.
Nicolas Trombetta, 25, is charged with attempted murder and is being held without bond in the Marshall County Jail. The victim, Jonathan Blake Chaney, 30, said he had recently met Trombetta and allowed him to stay at his apartment for several days before the incident unfolded on June 12.
Chaney told Huntsville-based NBC affiliate WAFF that the two were preparing food and spending time together when the situation escalated without warning. “I was caught off guard, because we went from cooking steaks … to you just slit my throat, you know, and so of course I get up, start trying to grab my phone off the nightstand, and that’s just when he just starts stabbing me in the back,” Chaney said.
Attack unfolds inside apartment
According to authorities, officers with the Albertville Police Department responded to the apartment complex and found both men still at the scene. Chaney, who suffered more severe injuries, provided officers with an account of what occurred.
Investigators said a kitchen knife covered in blood was located in a bedroom. Chaney reported that after the initial attack, a struggle broke out between the two men.
“I just remember thinking, ‘you cannot die like this,'” Chaney said. “The whole time I was fighting him, that’s what I was thinking.”
Chaney was eventually able to gain control of the knife and fight back, ending the assault before officers arrived.
Camera evidence and investigation details
An investigator noted that a camera inside the apartment may have captured the attack. However, authorities said the device had been turned away from the area approximately two hours before the incident occurred.
Officials have not released further details about a possible motive. Trombetta remains in custody as the case moves forward through the court system.
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