Victim wrestled knife away from mass stabbing suspect: Police

A victim of Monday night's mass stabbing incident in Hopewell Township managed to wrestle the knife away from the suspect, according to charging documents in the case.

Police arrested Keith Kretzer, 31, of Edgewood, Maryland, in connection with the stabbing deaths of a woman and a 5-year-old girl. Two other adults in the home were injured in the incident.

Kretzer was taken into custody without incident shortly after state troopers arrived on the scene Monday night in the first block of Firebox Court in Hopewell Township, police said. He faces two counts of homicide and two additional charges of attempted homicide.

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Police said Christine Fousek, 34, and 5-year-old Rylee Reynolds were found dead at the scene, a split-level home on Firebox Court. According to court documents, Christine Fousek and the girl were found in the basement of the home.

Jacqueline Fousek, 63, and Joseph Fousek, 28, were treated at the scene and then transported via medical helicopter with serious injuries to York Hospital. According to court documents, police found the two upstairs in the residence with stab wounds to the head, neck and torso.

Joseph Fousek told police he heard screaming and saw a knife-wielding Kretzer come through the door to the bedroom where he was, according the court records.

Kretzer struggled with Joseph Fousek, who took the knife away from him during the struggle. Police said Kretzer ran out of the house toward a large field after the confrontation.

The nature of Kretzer's relationship to the victims remained unclear Tuesday.

One neighbor, who declined to be named, told The York Dispatch on Tuesday that she heard a "bloodcurdling scream" on Monday. Another shared video of a medical helicopter taking off and landing at the Eureka Volunteer Fire Department in Stewartstown, carrying victims to the hospital.

The York County Coroner's Office was dispatched to the scene at 7:26 p.m. Monday with a report of a mass casualty incident with multiple victims including the two that were killed, the coroner's office said.

Deputy coroner Michelle Kirchner and deputy coroner in training Tif Naugle certified the deaths a short time later.

An autopsy of Christine Fousek is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown. An autopsy on Rylee Reynolds will be performed at 8 a.m. Wednesday at the same hospital.

On Tuesday, Kretzer was denied bail during an arraignment before District Judge Laura S. Manifold. A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Sept. 2.

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— Reach Anthony Maenza at amaenza@yorkdispatch.com or @atmaenza on Twitter.