Alleged Pullman stabber to undergo competency evaluation

COLFAX – The woman accused of trying to kill a Pullman man with a knife earlier this month will be evaluated for her mental competency.

Whitman County Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Robinson made this order during Tiffany Dennison’s scheduled arraignment hearing Friday.

Dennison is being held in Whitman County Jail for charges of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault with a deadly weapon and displaying a weapon capable of producing harm.

She is being held on $1 million bond.

The 29-year-old woman allegedly stabbed Pullman man Hunter Degler in the back Sept. 6 while Degler was in an apartment on Williams Drive with his girlfriend, Samantha Branch.

Pullman Police Officer Alex Gordon wrote in his probable cause affidavit that when he and another officer arrived at the apartment, they saw Degler with a “significant” amount of blood on the back of his white tank top.

Police allegedly saw Dennison holding an 8-12-inch, chef-style knife and making slicing and poking motions toward Degler. Branch was allegedly pulling at Dennison’s arms from behind to keep her from Degler.

Degler was taken to Pullman Regional Hospital for what appeared to be a punctured lung. Branch was treated for non-life-threatening injuries to her hands.

Degler is the primary caregiver for a toddler who lives in the College Hill apartment, the probable cause affidavit says. Branch allegedly told police that Dennison stabbed Degler because she thought he was the devil.