Stabbing victim says husband distraught over job loss

A stabbing victim from Gales Ferry told police her husband came after her with a hunting knife Monday morning because he had lost his job and was convinced he could no longer provide for his family.

The husband, 48-year-old Jeffrey A. Asbill, was arraigned Tuesday in New London Superior Court on charges of attempted murder and first-degree assault.

Judge Kevin P. McMahon ordered him held on a $99,000 cash bond and continued his case to Dec. 2. The woman, who suffered a stab wound to the chest, a punctured lung and lacerations to her left hand, is expected to recover.

According to Ledyard police, officers arrived to find Asbill standing over the victim after they were called to a disturbance at 31 Brewster Drive at 8:55 a.m. The woman was on her back, in a large pool of blood, at the top of a staircase. Sgt. Kenneth Creutz took Asbill into custody while Detective Christopher Cadro tended to the woman. The victim's mother, who was in the home at the time, turned the knife over to police.

The victim, interviewed later at The William W. Backus Hospital, told a state police detective that her husband had come at her with a knife and stabbed her.

"She explained that he had lost his job at Pfizer, that he has been treated in the past at Yale for mental health issues and was convinced he could not provide for his family any further," according to the police report. Court officials said the man was laid off about a year ago.

At the scene, Asbill had a dazed look on his face and was not responding to police. Interviewed later at Troop E in Montville, he confessed to the stabbing while being recorded on video and audio tape, according to the police report.

- Karen Florin