A Sugar Creek man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after a brutal 2021 knife attack in Independence, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced Saturday.
Ronald L. Thompson, 30, previously pleaded guilty to first-degree assault as part of a plea deal, according to the release.
On Dec. 23, 2021, Independence police received a call that a woman could be heard screaming at Mill Creek Park. The caller reported hearing the woman say she’d been stabbed.
Officers arrived at 1717 N. River Blvd. to find the victim lying soaked in blood in a wooded area of the park, court documents indicate. The woman allegedly told police, “Ronald Thompson did this to me.”
The woman was transported to the hospital with a cut across her throat, five puncture wounds to her upper back, and several cuts to her chin, arm and chest.
In an interview with detectives, the victim told police she, the defendant and another unknown male met up at the park to have sex.
While the victim and Thompson were having sex, he pulled out a knife and began to attack, according to prosecutors. When she caught the attention of an older man, who called police, Thompson allegedly fled.
Detectives found a black leather jacket and five-inch folding knife hidden under a bridge near the scene.
Thompson was arrested shortly after.