Man who stabbed Dad at church after being ‘moved by the message,’ sentenced to 10 years prison

A Kentucky man who stabbed his dad during a church service last year after being “moved by the message,” was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Warren Circuit Court judge.

People reports that on August 14, Ethan Buckley, 21, was arrested at the Hillvue Heights Church in Bowling Green, after stabbing his father in the neck as they sat listening to a pastor. Witnesses first thought that the victim, David Buckley, was experiencing a seizure. Yet, when one of the pastors, Jamie Ward, saw Ethan holding his father in a headlock, he ran over and pried him away. Police later recovered a bloody knife around five feet away from where the attack occurred.

The man charged with stabbing his father during a service at Hillvue Heights Baptist Church was sentenced to ten years in prison after pleading guilty, but mentally ill.

Posted by WBKO Television on Wednesday, March 29, 2017

David Buckley was rushed to the The Medical Center and later to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. He survived the incident and was released after a medical team successfully treated his injuries.

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According to BGPD Officer Alex Wright, another pastor, David Tooley, heard David Buckley pleading for his life as his son stabbed him.

“(Tooley) then heard David Buckley state, ‘Don’t let him kill me, don’t let him kill me.'”

BGPD Detective Mike Nade, who wrote the affidavit for the arrest report, noted that Ethan Buckley claimed that he heard a message that told him his father’s time on Earth was up.

“Ethan Buckley stated his father’s time here on Earth was up because he had done a lot of good things in his life. Ethan Buckley stated he resented his father because his father was such a good guy while he (Ethan) was a screw-up and a drug addict.”

Later, the suspect went through a psychiatric exam, which found him competent for a court hearing.

Ethan Buckley must serve at least 8½ years of his 10-year sentence before he’s eligible for parole. Since he pleaded “guilty but mentally ill,” he’ll have access to mental health services while serving his time.

[Feature Photo: Warren County Regional Jail]