A man found dead in his downtown Madison apartment last month suffered about 70 knife wounds, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
The victim, Andrew Nesbitt, suffered wounds to the head, torso and neck during the March 27 incident, Dane County Chief Medical Examiner Vincent Tranchida said Tuesday in a preliminary trial for the suspect in the homicide.
Darrick E. Anderson, 23, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide for Nesbitt’s death.
Madison Police Department Detective Pedro Ortega-Mendoza testified that Nesbitt—who turned 46 on the day of his death—was found by a roommate on a bare mattress in his North Butler Street apartment. Pictures were knocked over in the bedroom, but there were no other signs of a struggle noted in the apartment, he said.
In a criminal complaint, Tranchida said a photograph of wounds on Anderson’s fingers led him to believe they were caused by a knife sliding in Anderson’s hand as it was being used.
However, in court, Tranchida testified Nesbitt had wounds to the palms of his hands, indicating he had tried to grab the knife as he defended himself.
Many of the wounds Nesbitt suffered were to his back and many were very deep, indicating force was used to inflict them, Tranchida said. That force, combined with blood, could have caused the knife handle to be slick enough to slip through the hand of Nesbitt’s assailant and cause the kind of cuts seen on Anderson’s hand.
An oral swab taken from Anderson after his arrest matched the DNA from the blood droplets found in the kitchen of the apartment, according to Ortega-Mendoza.
Authorities have not yet said what motivation Anderson may have had for killing Nesbitt.
Anderson has a long record of run-ins with law enforcement, MPD Public Information Officer Joel DeSpain told the State Journal.
Anderson was found guilty of punching and choking his girlfriend in 2013, which led to misdemeanor convictions for battery and bail jumping.
In October 2015, Anderson allegedly started a fight with his roommate in Portage after being denied a cigarette, leading to two disorderly conduct charges that are currently pending in Columbia County. One month later, while working at McDonald’s in Portage, he was accused of causing a disturbance in the restaurant before he hit the supervisor in the head and damaged an employee’s cellphone.
In 2016, he was convicted of fourth-degree sexual assault for grabbing a nurse inappropriately at St. Mary’s Hospital.
He will enter pleas to charges against him for Nesbitt’s death at a later date.
