MALTBY — Gina Mangulabnan was making plans for a life without her husband.
She was going to leave him. She had secured a new apartment and intended to move there with her mother and four children.
Mangulabnan died Dec. 6, two days after her husband allegedly stabbed her with a box cutter knife and then attempted suicide.
Prosecutors on Friday charged Wesley Mangulabnan with second-degree domestic violence murder. He was being held on $1 million bail. He is expected to answer to the charge next week in Snohomish County Superior Court.
The defendant, 48, initially had been booked for investigation of first-degree murder and prosecutors alleged that a note found on an open laptop indicated that Wesley Mangulabnan had planned the attack.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow said Friday that the case remains under investigation. Among other things, detectives are trying to determine when the note was written.
“At this point we don’t know if he decided to do it ahead of time,” Darrow said. “Second-degree murder fits more squarely with the evidence we have now.”
The note reportedly was written to one of the couple’s sons detailing where he could find cash and what should be done with his father’s car. The note also instructed their son to get rid of the defendant’s “private movies,” saying they were just for his entertainment.
“Do great in your life. Life is just not about job. We love you. Take care,” the note concluded.
On Dec. 4 Gina Mangulabnan had returned to the Maltby-area apartment she shared with her husband, mother and children. She was packing up her belongings and cleaning up the apartment. Her mother and one son were home. Her daughter had gone to the apartment building’s office to do her homework. The couple’s other son wasn’t home.
Her mother reported hearing Gina Mangulabnan, 48, yell for help from the master bedroom. The door was locked. The couple’s daughter eventually forced open the door. They found the Mangulabnans lying next to each other near the bathroom. They were covered in blood. Gina Mangulabnan had multiple cuts to her throat, stomach and left arm. Her daughter wrapped a towel around her mother’s throat to try to stop the blood. Wesley Mangulabnan reportedly had a box cutter in his hand. His wife told their daughter to take the knife away. The couple’s son, who lives with autism, eventually was able to get the knife.
Snohomish County deputies arrived and the injured woman told them her husband had attacked her. She also said she thought she was going to die.
The couple was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Wesley Mangulabnan had a cut to his throat and left wrist.
Gina Mangulabnan underwent surgery. She lost a significant amount of blood and died Dec. 6.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley
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