William Michael Stankewicz was a teacher who attacked educators and children at North Hopewell-Winterstown Elementary School in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, in 2001.
Stankewicz attacked 11 kindergarteners, two teachers and the principal with a machete.
He said he attacked the victims because he was angry about the failure of his marriage six years earlier, and allegations he had molested his stepdaughters.
Principal Norina Bentzel stopped the attack by jumping on Stankewicz and pinning him down, despite having been severely injured by hits from the machete.
On February 2, 2001, Stankewicz drove from his home in Johnson City, Tennessee, to York County. Along the way, he tried to buy a gun but failed the mandatory background check.
William Michael Stankewicz Cause Of Death
William Michael Stankewicz died on November 27, 2023, in prison.
He was found unresponsive in his cell at State Correctional Institution – Dallas and was declared dead at the age of 78.
The cause of death was not reported.
William Michael Stankewicz Wife
William Michael Stankewicz’s wife was Larisa Montgomery, a Russian-born woman whom he married in 1994.
They had a bitter divorce and child custody dispute in York County, Pennsylvania, which Stankewicz blamed for his mental breakdown and machete attack on 11 children and three adults at North Hopewell-Winterstown Elementary School in 2001.
Stankewicz met Montgomery through a mail-order bride service and brought her and her two daughters from Russia to the United States.
He claimed that Montgomery had married him for a green card and had falsely accused him of molesting her daughters.
He also accused her of having an affair with her attorney, Stephen Converse, and of stealing his money and property123.
Stankewicz said he hated Montgomery and wanted to kill her, but he did not know where she lived.
He said he attacked the school where her children had once attended as a proxy for his revenge.
He showed no remorse for his victims and said he felt better after the attack.
Montgomery denied Stankewicz’s allegations and said she feared for her life and the safety of her children.
She said Stankewicz was abusive, controlling, and paranoid. She said she had left him in 1995 and had moved several times to avoid him.
She said she had no contact with him since the divorce and had no idea why he targeted the school.
William Michael Stankewicz Children
William Michael Stankewicz did not have any biological children of his own. He was married to Larisa Montgomery, who had two daughters from a previous marriage.
Stankewicz was accused of molesting his stepdaughters, which led to his divorce and a custody battle.
He blamed his ex-wife and York County for his problems and attacked a school where his stepdaughters had once attended.
He injured 11 children and three adults with a machete before he was subdued by the principal.
He pleaded guilty to attempted homicide and aggravated assault and was sentenced to 132 to 264 years in prison. He died in prison in 2023 at the age of 78.
William Michael Stankewicz Family
William Michael Stankewicz did not have a large family.
He was married four times, but his last marriage to Larisa Montgomery, a Russian-born woman, ended in a bitter divorce and a custody dispute over her two daughters from a previous marriage.
William Michael Stankewicz Net Worth
There is no reliable information about William Michael Stankewicz’s net worth.
William Michael Stankewicz Illness
William Michael Stankewicz was a teacher who suffered from acute depression and anxiety and attacked 14 people with a machete at an elementary school in Pennsylvania in 2001.
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