Night before Key Peninsula stabbings, police responded to call about suspect

About 12 hours before Aleksandr Shablykin allegedly killed his mother and three other people near Gig Harbor, police officers went to his sister’s house in Orting, Pierce County, and talked about the suspect’s mental state, body camera footage obtained by the Seattle Times shows.

The suspect’s sister, Anastasia Shablykina, and her partner called 911 the night of Feb. 23 after they asked Shablykin to leave because he had stopped taking medication for bipolar disorder. Anastasia’s partner, Robert Knowles, said in an interview last week that Shablykin had been staying in their garage for about 10 months.

The video sheds more light on the family’s concerns over the suspect’s mental health. In it, Anastasia Shablykina and Knowles appear mostly calm, with no way of knowing what was going to happen. While they were worried, Knowles said Shablykin hasn’t done anything wrong” and he did not seem suicidal.

The next morning, according to authorities, Shablykin fatally stabbed his mother, 52-year-old Zoya Shablykina, and three other women in her neighborhood: Joanne Kathleen Brandani, 59; Louise Sandra Talley, 81; and Stephanie Killilea, 67. A Pierce County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Shablykin.

In the body camera footage, an Orting police officer speaks to the couple for about four minutes on their front porch about Shablykin’s mental health issues and whether he is a danger to himself. The police officer did not discuss a protection order that had been filed by Zoya Shablykina the year prior. At one point, Anastasia Shablykina tells officers that Shablykin was probably headed to their mother’s house.

At another point, the officer says he believes police have responded to the home before.

When on his medication, Knowles said, Shablykin behaved normally.

“Over the course of the last couple days, I’ve seen just odd behavior, real similar to what it started with when he was staying with her mom,” Knowles told the officer.

Knowles said he asked Shablykin repeatedly if he was still on his medication, and Shablykin refused to answer.

The couple told the officer about an incident that occurred in April 2025, prompting Shablykina to file a protection order: Shablykin had torn up carpet in his mother’s home and made statements about being an Egyptian god.

Shablykin himself is not captured in the footage. Knowles said he left the house before officers responded.

“Is he any danger to himself?” the Orting police officer asked. Anastasia Shablykina responded: “God, I hope not.”

The officer asked questions about Shablykin’s mental health treatment before telling the couple to call 911 again if Shablykin returned.

Shablykin had been court-ordered to undergo several mental health evaluations since 2020, when his mother was first granted a domestic violence protection order against him.

“He’s gonna show up at my mom’s, I’m guessing,” Anastasia Shablykina told the officer. “My mom is going to wait for him. He’s got nowhere else to go.”

In a statement, Shablykina’s family said a “broken mental health care system” offered “no real support” for them or Shablykin.

In a search warrant filed by Pierce County investigators, a detective wrote that Zoya Shablykina called 911 at 8:41 a.m. and said her son was standing outside her home. About 12 minutes later, the search warrant states, the sheriff’s office learned the protection order had not been served.

At 9:30 a.m., multiple 911 callers reported the stabbings. A statement from the Shablykina family questioned why it took officers over 45 minutes to arrive at the scene after Zoya Shablykina called to report her son was outside. When deputies arrived, it was a “dynamic, violent and ongoing situation,” according to the search warrant.

A deputy fatally shot Shablykin, who had approached the patrol vehicle and was feet away from the driver’s door, according to the warrant. Five cartridge casings were found in the roadway.

Several droplets of blood were visible on the walkway leading to Shablykina’s house, and she was found in the backyard with her phone inches away from her. Inside her home, a “significant amount of blood was on the floor and blood was splattered on the doors and walls.

A serrated knife was found across the street from Shablykin’s body, according to the search warrant.

Two vigils will be held for the victims this week. Wednesday’s vigil will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Gig Harbor’s Skansie Brothers Park, according to organizer Darline McCurdy Meier.

Saturday’s vigil is from 3 to 4 p.m. in a grassy area in front of Local Boys, a produce market in Purdy, Pierce County. Lakebay Community Church Pastor Dan Whitmarsh will lead the service.