Salina, KS: Woman murdered

7/8/2010

ASSARIA -- An Assaria woman had returned to her house to retrieve some of her belongings Tuesday night when her husband stabbed her to death and attempted to kill her sister-in-law, Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski said.

Valerie Paulson, 38, was found dead of multiple stab wounds inside the home at 124 E. Second in Assaria when deputies arrived shortly after 8 p.m., Kochanowski said. No one else was at the home when deputies arrived, he said.

Arrested Wednesday

Michael Andrew "Andy" Paulson, 39, was taken into custody Wednesday morning by officers with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office and Kansas Highway Patrol at a cafe in Bennington, Kochanowski said. Paulson was taken to the Saline County Jail, where he was being held on charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and kidnapping.

Valerie Paulson had been staying with her brother's family for a period of time, and she had returned to the house to talk to her husband and retrieve some clothing, Kochanowski said. He said the Paulsons had apparently been having marital difficulties. Valerie Paulson had talked to her husband about going to the house, and he was expecting her arrival, Kochanowski said.

Valerie Paulson's sister-in-law, Jessie Putman, 38, who had driven her to the house, also suffered multiple stab wounds, but she escaped and drove to Lowe's, 3035 S. Ninth, to seek help, he said. Putman had surgery at Salina Regional Health Center and was reported to be in good condition Wednesday, Kochanowski said.

Kochanowski said Putman had entered the house after her sister-in-law and was chased into the backyard by Andy Paulson. He said deputies found a lot of blood in the backyard, where authorities believe Putman was located when she was stabbed.

Man killed a woman

He said authorities believe Andy Paulson was still at the house when Putman got into a car and drove to Lowe's. Kochanowski said he assumed she stopped at Lowe's because it was the first open business she found after fleeing her sister-in-law's house.

Salina police and paramedics were called to the store shortly after the sheriff's office received its first 911 call about the incident at 7:58 p.m. In the first call, a person -- who may have been Putman -- reported that a man had killed a woman at the Assaria address, he said.

Kochanowski declined to elaborate on the type of knife used or whether the knife had been found. He said deputies were likely to remain at the house processing evidence most of the day Wednesday.

He declined to say whether sheriff's deputies had been called to the house on previous occasions. Saline County District Court records show no civil or criminal complaints filed against Michael or Valerie Paulson.

Quite a bit of talk

The stabbing was being discussed by customers Wednesday morning at Assaria Oil & Hardware.

"There's been quite a bit of talk on it, but nobody knows what took place for sure," said Harvey Morrical, who works at Assaria Oil & Hardware.

Alleys and Second Street near where the stabbing occurred in eastern Assaria remained blocked off Wednesday morning.

Morrical said he saw several deputies and "quite a few vehicles over there" when he drove to work Wednesday morning.

"I didn't try to go down there," he said.

Kochanowski said multiple law enforcement agencies cooperated to apprehend Paulson, and he was pleased with the cooperation between agencies. He said the Saline County Sheriff's Office was assisted by sheriff's offices in Ottawa and McPherson counties, the Salina Police Department, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies in the surrounding area.

n Erin Mathews can be reached at 822-1415 or by e-mail at emathews@salina.com.