Idaho Falls man admits stabbing roommate 15 times and slicing his throat
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IDAHO FALLS — A local man has been arrested for murder after allegedly slicing his roommate’s throat with a knife.
Douglas Taylor, 32, of Idaho Falls, was booked into the Bonneville County Jail early Wednesday following a police investigation.
During a news conference later that day, Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson said authorities were called to the Safe and Sober Group Home on the corner of Higbee Avenue and 17th Street around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday for a reported stabbing. Court documents show the caller told dispatchers a man was lying in a pool of blood inside the kitchen.
A witness told officers he saw Taylor standing over a man and stabbing him in the neck with a knife, according to court documents. Taylor then ran away.
The victim was rushed to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Police have identified him as 51-year-old Hermann Hans Woerrlein, originally from Germany. He was traveling around the United States, but had been residing in Idaho for a few months.
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Johnson said officers searched the neighborhood and discovered Taylor hiding behind Albertsons. He was taken into custody without incident.
Officers saw Taylor was covered in blood, which he admitted belonged to the victim. Taylor also admitted to the killing, police said.
“Douglas advised words to the effect that he had ‘brutally stabbed that guy … and made sure he was dead,'” according to the affidavit of probable cause. “Douglas estimated that he stabbed him about 15 times (and) then slit his throat.”
Taylor described the murder weapon to officers, which they found inside the home.
When questioned by officers, Taylor said he hadn’t had any previous conflicts with his roommate. Taylor also admitted the victim was unarmed when he attacked him, and that he wasn’t angry when he killed the victim.
His only explanation to police was the victim was “trying to start a new cult with German mythology” and that he was a “young retard Hitler.” Taylor told officers that he was an atheist and did not tolerate proselytizing. He also said he didn’t want to resuscitate the man after he hurt him, and “he just wanted to put that thing down.”
Taylor has been charged with first-degree murder, which is punishable by a minimum of 10 years in prison, and up to a life sentence or the death penalty. Bond was set at $500,000. He will appear in court again on March 25.