A Norwich man accused of stabbing a relative of his children's mother during an altercation on July 15 made his first appearance Tuesday in the New London court where major crimes are tried.   

Joseph F. Brown Sr., 34, of 77 Taftville-Occum Road, pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault and violation of a protective order. Judge Hillary B. Strackbein appointed attorney M. Fred DeCaprio from the public defender's office to represent him and continued the case to Nov. 15. Brown is being held in lieu of a $227,500 bond at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Institution.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit written by Detective Anthony J. Gomes, Brown was bleeding heavily from a cut on his shoulder when police arrived at the Taftville-Occum Road home for a report of a possible stabbing. He initially told them he had been assaulted by an unknown group of people while walking home from the Occum Fire Department.

Police learned a second stabbing victim had been taken from the apartment to The William W. Backus Hospital. They learned the man suffered a stab wound to his right upper leg that doctors said just missed his femoral artery and one to his upper torso that punctured his liver and required immediate surgery, blood transfusions and other procedures.

The man, who is not identified in the affidavit, later told police that he had taken out his own knife and used it to fight back against Brown. 

During the investigation, police learned Brown was living with the mother of his children despite an earlier domestic violence incident that resulted in a conviction and a court order prohibiting him from having contact with the woman and their children.

The woman told police she was working on the day of the stabbing and was worried because Brown, who was home with the children, had been drinking and had sent her a message earlier in the day that he was going to murder her.

She said she asked her sister and the sister's husband to accompany her to the home to check on Brown and the children. When the sister asked Brown if she could take the children with her, he told her no and instructed the couple to leave.

The woman told police Brown pulled a knife from his waistband and stated he was going was going to confront the sister and her husband in the driveway. She said he chased the husband to his car and she saw him make stabbing motions to the victim's stomach area.

Investigators found a large blood stain and a bloody knife handle on the southwest corner of the property and recovered another part, a blade pivot, near the roadway, according to the affidavit.

k.florin@theday.com