Disturbing new details have emerged surrounding the murder of a man inside his home in Tacoma, Washington, where his 28-year-old stepson, Gaven Flowers, has been charged with the crime. According to family members, Flowers has a history of mental illness and had previously been hospitalized for psychiatric care.
Tacoma police responded to the home on Heron Ridge Drive NE on Tuesday afternoon after Flowers walked into the local police substation to report the murder. In a court appearance Thursday, Flowers was ordered to be held without bail while he undergoes a mental health evaluation.
Court documents revealed that the victim, who was found dead in an upstairs bathroom, had been stabbed 18 times. Flowers initially claimed he had acted in self-defense, but the evidence did not support this. Pierce County Deputy Prosecutor Dalton Smith pointed out that the facts contradicted Flowers’ self-defense statement.
The victim had expressed concerns about Flowers’ behavior, with family members describing him as erratic and paranoid. Flowers had been diagnosed with psychosis and had exhibited signs of severe mental health issues. Just days before the murder, family members had called a crisis response team to intervene with him, and another visit was scheduled for the day after the incident.
According to investigators, the brutal attack likely began in the victim’s bedroom and continued into the bathroom, where the victim bled heavily. Flowers attempted to clean up the scene, even trying to wash blood-soaked clothing in a tub and hiding the suspected murder weapon inside a vacuum attachment.
Flowers’ mental health history includes a stay in a psychiatric hospital in 2021, and his family had taken precautions, such as hiding knives and locking doors at night to protect themselves from his unpredictable behavior.
Flowers will return to court on February 27 after the completion of his mental health evaluation. He remains in custody without bail pending further legal proceedings.
