Lancaster County jury convicts son of stabbing his 80-year-old father
Lancaster, PA — A West Lampeter Township man has been convicted of stabbing his father during a violent altercation that left the 80-year-old victim hospitalized after emergency surgery, prosecutors announced this month.
Following a three-day trial, a Lancaster County jury found 45-year-old Russell Woodrow Adams-Nicholls guilty on September 12 of aggravated assault, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person. Judge Merill Spahn, who presided over the trial, will sentence Adams-Nicholls at a later date.
The charges stem from a December 10, 2024, attack inside the victim’s residence on the 600 block of Chatham Way in Manheim Township. Prosecutors said Adams-Nicholls repeatedly punched his father before stabbing him in the neck, causing severe blood loss that required life-saving surgery. The victim was intubated, sedated, and hospitalized for four days.
The victim testified that his son deliberately selected a knife and slashed him. Adams-Nicholls admitted to striking and swinging a knife but claimed he did not intend to cause such serious harm. He further testified that he washed the knife and put it away before leaving the home.
Prosecutors argued that Adams-Nicholls’ actions before and after the stabbing showed deliberate conduct, pointing to his admissions of long-standing frustration with his father. The jury deliberated for about two hours before returning a guilty verdict.
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Following the conviction, Judge Spahn raised Adams-Nicholls’ bail from $500,000 to $1 million at the request of prosecutors. The case was prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Travis Anderson with assistance from Assistant District Attorney Kylie Scott. Manheim Township Police Detective Jonathan Martin filed the charges.
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Key Points
- Russell Adams-Nicholls, 45, was convicted of stabbing his 80-year-old father in December 2024
- The victim required emergency surgery and was hospitalized for four days
- Judge Spahn raised bail to $1 million following the guilty verdict