Man lured woman to Bountiful park over Tinder with plans to kill her, others, police say

An 18-year-old Utah man has been arrested in the stabbing of two women in two separate attacks in Bountiful on Thursday. He allegedly told police he was planning one woman's murder since he began talking with her on Tinder.

An 18-year-old Utah man has been arrested in the stabbing of two women in two separate attacks in Bountiful on Thursday. He allegedly told police he was planning one woman's murder since he began talking with her on Tinder. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)


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BOUNTIFUL — A Utah man is being held in jail without bail in connection with the stabbings of two women in Davis County on Thursday.

Kane Thomas Fairbank, 18, was booked into the Davis County Jail for investigation of attempted murder, obstructing justice and kidnapping.

Police say Fairbank met one woman, 18, on Tinder, a popular dating app, and made arrangements to meet her in a park near Bountiful. The two had met a few days prior, and they met at Mueller Park and were together for "several hours" before the stabbing, according to a statement from the Davis County Sheriff's Office.

Fairbank admitted he coerced the woman into his vehicle and "began attacking her with a knife, stabbing her multiple times," according to a police booking affidavit. The woman suffered wounds to her hands, neck and face during the attack, police said. The attack took place around 6:30 p.m.

The woman was able to get out of the car and run away, but Fairbank chased after her and stabbed her in the back, the affidavit says. The woman's stab wound was "life-threatening in nature," according to police.

When the woman ran toward several people in the park, police say Fairbank ran away and drove to another area of Bountiful. On the way, Fairbank told police he tried to get rid of the woman's phone and his phone to destroy evidence, according to the affidavit. Two EMTs and a nurse saw the woman in the park and provided first aid while another witness called 911.

Fairbank drove to a gas station in Bountiful and abandoned his car, the statement says.

Fairbank later went to the area near 550 North and 500 West and stabbed another woman, 64, multiple times, causing life-threatening injuries, according to the sheriff's office. The woman fell to the ground and fought back before Fairbank ran away. He told police the second woman was a stranger and he decided to attack her because, "she was elderly, alone and vulnerable," the affidavit alleges.

Fairbank was spotted in a nearby neighborhood where investigators say a bystander detained him until police could arrest him. The second attack took place at a Bountiful business, the sheriff's office later said.

Both women were taken to area hospitals in critical condition. The sheriff's Friday statement said both were still hospitalized but were in stable condition.

When police interviewed Fairbank, they say he told them that he was "planning (the first victim's) murder" since he started talking with her on Tinder. The affidavit also says he told them he lured the woman to the park "with the intent of luring her into his car and killing her."

Fairbank also "admitted to planning to continue to kill other people" after stabbing the first woman, according to the affidavit. He allegedly told police about his plans to "live out of his car and even took steps to pack what he said was food to sustain him through this endeavor."

"Kane explained his desire to continue to kill people who he (thought) were vulnerable," the affidavit states. "Kane talked in length about killing his parents and siblings with a pickax that he had at his house. Kane is a clear danger to the public and even stated that if he was released he would continue his plans to kill."

Fairbank is being held in jail without bail after a judge found there was sufficient evidence to prove he "would constitute a substantial danger to any other individual or to the community," according to an order filed in court Friday. The sheriff's office confirmed in a tweet Friday afternoon that Fairbank is the suspect connected to the Bountiful stabbings.

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Jacob Scholl joined KSL.com as a reporter in 2021. He covers northern Utah communities, federal courts and technology.

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