When A Bloody Person Knocks

In the spring of 2018, Spring Brook, a small town in Dunn County, Wisconsin, became the setting for a killing that was captured in fragments on a phone, in a car and in the memory of a young woman who told several different stories about it.

Alexander Woodworth, known as Alex, was twenty-four. He was born on 1 January 1994 and grew up in St Croix Falls in Polk County, the oldest of four children. He graduated from high school in 2012 and took a bachelor's degree in philosophy and biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the spring of 2017. He worked as a barista at Racy Delaney's coffee shop, tutored on campus, taught philosophy classes at a local high school and hoped to study for a master's degree at the University of Oregon. Friends described him as a gentle, bookish man who loved spiders and insects and wrote constantly in his journal.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Her mother was fourteen when she was born; her biological father left, and her mother later married Joe Carlin, who adopted her and whose surname she took. this part of the story is covered for now She was small, five foot two and about 115 pounds, and she was an artist who painted a crow riding a bicycle on the roof of her white Chevrolet Impala. In July 2017, aged nineteen, she met Jason Mengel, a thirty-three-year-old army reservist medic, outside Racy Delaney's. He had a flat bicycle tyre and was sitting on a bench looking miserable. She asked what was wrong, they talked all night and within about two and a half weeks she had moved into his flat.

The relationship was intense and troubled. details of the account remain covered until revealed Jason found her affectionate with other men and, by his own account, was easily manipulated. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it That was Alex Woodworth. She was intrigued, they talked for hours about philosophy, cannibalism, spiders and art, and they exchanged numbers. Jason had encouraged the friendship, thinking the two had much in common, but he soon became uneasy about how close they were.

this part of the story is covered for now She said Jason seemed anxious, that the pregnancy was confirmed by a doctor and that she decided to end it. The procedure took place on her twentieth birthday, 6 October 2017. Afterwards she felt empty and ashamed, Jason slept on the couch, and the couple drifted apart. details of the account remain covered until revealed Alex fell hard for her and wrote about his longing in his journal. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

In February 2018 the arrangements became more complicated. this part of the story is covered for now She and Zinc argued constantly. After Jason went away again, Zinc told her to help around the house or leave; she moved out and broke up with Jason by text. Jason still loved her and still saw her. One night, while she was in the shower, he looked at her phone. details of the account remain covered until revealed He photographed the screen. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

this part of the story is covered for now She claimed that on 4 February, after John and his roommate encouraged her to drink, she blacked out and woke feeling strange; she said John took her home and assaulted her again in Jason's bed. details of the account remain covered until revealed Jason did not know whom to believe. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it

this part of the story is covered for now The detective treated her as a victim, but when he examined her phone the texts told a different story. details of the account remain covered until revealed Her friends said she had seemed happy and excited about John. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now Jason began taking her calls again.

On 21 March 2018 the two exchanged six hundred texts in a single day. details of the account remain covered until revealed Jason told her not to go, then said he was finished with her and did not want to hear from her unless he contacted her first.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Jason followed on his bicycle. He found her car outside with the driver's door open and the engine running. He paced outside for so long that neighbours called the police. this part of the story is covered for now He suggested they talk in public. The three walked out into the arms of the police, and after a brief conversation Jason rode off. details of the account remain covered until revealed

At about 4.15 that afternoon, Don Sipple, an eighty-five-year-old farmer, was sitting down to an early dinner when a young woman began banging on his door. She had no shoes, mud to her knees and dried blood around her mouth. He brought her inside, gave her a blanket and called 911. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it She was taken to hospital, where a sexual assault examination found cuts and bruises, including the word 'BOY' carved into her left forearm. She said she could not remember what had happened or whether she had been assaulted. The doctor concluded that the wounds were self-inflicted and referred her for a mental health assessment; she was admitted to a secure psychiatric unit.

The police went to Alex's apartment and could not find him. On 23 March they searched the area around the farm and followed footprints in the mud from the farmhouse. this part of the story is covered for now Alex was in the back, slumped on the floor with his head and shoulders hanging out of the rear driver's side door. He had been stabbed sixteen times, in the head, neck, chest and groin. A four-inch serrated folding knife and his smashed phone were in a ditch nearby. details of the account remain covered until revealed

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it She said she remembered going to Owen Park with Alex but nothing else, including where her car was. The next day, 24 March, they told her they had found Alex. She then said she would tell them what happened. Her account was that they had driven to a remote road, that the car got stuck, that Alex climbed on top of her in the back seat, called her 'boy', cut her clothes and carved the word into her arm, and that she grabbed the knife and stabbed him to escape. The detectives pointed out that Alex was right-handed and could not have carved the word so that she could read it, and that her hands had only superficial cuts, not the wounds she would have from grabbing a blade. She admitted carving 'BOY' into her own arm. She said she could not remember details and that her memory returned only later, in the shower.

The physical evidence contradicted her. Most of Alex's blood was outside the car, suggesting he was stabbed there and climbed inside afterwards to escape. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed A scarf was round his neck, which the prosecution thought he had used as a tourniquet.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now The court refused. details of the account remain covered until revealed She appeared in pink, with different hairstyles, smiling and drawing at the defence table. Jason testified and she wore, under her jacket, the green sweater he had given her in hospital, a gesture he recognised at once. The defence called experts who said her injuries and demeanour were consistent with trauma; the prosecution called its own psychologist and argued that trauma does not make a person lie. Alex's journal entries about cannibalism and violence were admitted only in a limited way.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now She is held at Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. Alex's family said they had forgiven her; Jason said he thought about both of them often and that it did not have to end that way.