Hoquiam stabbing victim identified

Grays Harbor County Coroner intends to perform an autopsy on the victim Wednesday

The Grays Harbor County Coroner’s office identified the victim in a Hoquiam stabbing on Monday afternoon as Paul Mottinger, 59, of Hoquiam. His family has been notified and an autopsy is scheduled to occur Wednesday, Coroner Lane Youmans stated in a press release sent out Tuesday.

Shana Hope Soliz, 45, also of Hoquiam, was arrested Monday evening after a standoff with authorities on the 300 block of M Street. She made a first appearance Tuesday afternoon in Grays Harbor District Court on suspicion of first-degree murder. Judge Thomas Copland set her bail at $500,000 and scheduled her next court appearance date on Dec. 15.

“Officers are very familiar with the suspect as she had numerous police contacts for mental health related issues. She had just recently been released from jail after a completing a 90-day court sentence for stabbing a different male with a large hunting style knife at the same location back on July 7, 2016,” Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers wrote in a press release Tuesday morning. “Apparently the male was a friend of the suspect.”

The suspect is alleged to have started stabbing the victim inside her home, then continued to go after him outside before returning to her residence. She refused to come out or let officials in, Myers said.

The stabbing occurred on the 300 block of M Street just after 3 p.m. Monday. A woman driving her children home from school reported seeing another woman using a large hunting knife to attack a man on the sidewalk. A neighbor from across the street heard the male screaming for help and also came out to assist, Myers said.

Myers, who was the first official to arrive on scene, found Mottinger on the sidewalk with multiple stab wounds. More law enforcement descended on the location and watched the house carefully as paramedics came to Mottinger’s aid. The victim was transported to Grays Harbor Community Hospital, where he later died.

Officers from various law enforcement agencies around the area joined in on the effort to coax the woman out of the residence. Negotiations were unsuccessful so officers went inside and brought her out of the home at around 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

She was subsequently booked into Grays Harbor County Jail on suspicion of homicide and for violating probation in connection to a prior assault.