MOHAVE VALLEY – A Mohave Valley resident has fully confessed to the murder of his girlfriend of eight years, claiming it was an act of euthanasia. Details are provided in a probable cause statement authored by Mohave County Sheriff’s Detective William Dixon.
The statement indicated that James Paul Manker, 28, first told dispatch that he killed Tina Marie Stimmell, 56, when he called the sheriff’s office at 9:45 a.m. on Jan. 29. His speech was slurred and he reportedly said that he had taken medication and had been drinking vodka after shooting Stimmell while she slept in her recliner in the living room of the Mohave Valley home they shared at 9903 S. Needles Drive.
“The male subject then told the dispatcher that he had to go throw up, because he could not believe what he just did,” the affidavit stated.
The sheriff’s office dispatch center received corroborating information from Manker’s brother Paul Angelotti. The Las Vegas resident told dispatch that he read text messages when he woke up hours after Manker sent them between 1:00 and 1:30 a.m.
“James admitted to Paul that he put her out of her misery, that he shot her three times with a .38 special in the head and that she is lying dead in her Lazy Boy,” Dixon’s statement said.
Manker surrendered without incident when deputies arrived at the residence. Manker was placed in custody and Stimmell was found dead in the living room chair, three shell casings were removed from a nearby trash can and a pillow burned by bullet holes was located on the couch.
Manker was transported to Kingman where he provided additional information during an interview after he waived his Miranda rights against self incrimination. He said that Stimmell’s health had been deteriorating and that she had recently been diagnosed with stage 4 kidney failure.
Wilson’s affidavit said the couple tried to take their lives the day before, leaving the natural gas on in their home. Manker told authorities he shut the gas off after eight hours when the suicide attempt failed.
Manker said that he retrieved the victim’s handgun from the closet of their bedroom and that he buried the muzzle of the revolver into a pillow placed over Stimmell’s head, firing three times as she slept in her chair. He placed the gun back in the closet and called the sheriff’s office hours later.
Manker is held in the Mohave County Adult Detention Center on $1.2 million bond.
The case has been assigned to Deputy Mohave County Attorney Jaimye Ashley. Manker will be represented by the Mohave County Public Defender’s office, though a specific attorney has not yet been assigned.
– Dave Hawkins
