Today, in Thayer County District Courthouse, James R. Stillwell pled no contest to First Degree Assault and Use of a Deadly Weapon to Commit a Felony, both Class II felonies.

On October 29, 2015, law enforcement officers with the Superior Police Department responded to a report of assault. They found a 32 year old female victim outside a local residence with a knife protruding from her back. She suffered injuries to her back and lungs. The victim later reported that she and the defendant were watching television and playing computer games when she heard a knock on her back door. When she was about to answer it, the defendant came up behind her and stabbed her in the back with a three inch knife. The defendant fled the scene before witnesses heard the victim's screams for help.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 7, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. in Nuckolls County District Court.

The Nuckolls County Attorney Sara Bockstadter and Assistant Attorney General George Welch prosecuted the case.