Husband faces charges in stabbing death of wife

A Mead man faces first-degree murder charges in connection with an early-morning attack today in which is wife was killed and his son was injured. Jeffrey N. Canino, 46, is at a downtown Spokane hospital - and under guard - where he is being treated for what police characterize as self-inflicted knife wounds. He is in critical condition and on a ventilator in the hospital’s intensive care unit, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. In a news release, Sgt. Bill Beeman said probable cause to arrest Canino was based on interviews and evidence collected at the scene of the homicide, 4518 E. Woodglen in Mead. He added that autopsy of the victim will be conducted by the Spokane Medical Examiner’s Office on Thursday. Confirmation of the victim’s name is still dependent on release by the Medical Examiner. The home, in a manicured subdivision, is owned by Jeffrey and Michelle Canino, documents show. Michelle Canino’s brother, Mike Mettler, confirmed in a telephone interview that his sister had died, that her husband was hospitalized and that their son was also treated for knife wounds. Mettler said he had no other details about what happened. “She was just a real good person and a loving mother,” he said of Michelle Canino, a graduate of Shadle Park High School. He said she was employed, but he did not specify her occupation Deputies received a call shortly before daybreak in which a woman could be heard screaming for help, apparently from a cell phone, said Sgt. Dave Reagan. Deputies did not obtain an address, but used cell tower locations to move units into the area, Reagan said. A short time later, a second caller gave an address of 4518 E. Woodglen Road, north of Mead in a development of upscale homes on the south side of Day-Mt. Spokane Road. The screaming could be heard during the second call as well. Reagan said the first deputy was met at the door by the couple’s 11-year-old son who had knife wounds on his hand or hands. The woman was dead and the man was critically injured with knife wounds, Reagan said. Both were on the floor in the kitchen, as was a knife believed used in the incident. The man and the boy were taken to different hospitals just after 7 a.m., Reagan said. The man was taken to surgery and moved to a critical care unit, where his condition remained unchanged later Wednesday. According to the sheriff’s office, Canino improved some this afternoon and is expected to be taken off the ventilator sometime tonight. Because it appeared he could become ambulatory, detectives moved to book him on the felony murder charge. Mettler said that Jeffrey Canino was facing the possibility of losing his job at a car dealership because of the slow economy. A neighbor, who declined to give her name, said, “They are a good, good family. It’s a sad, sad situation.”