NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A
man charged with killing a Nashville woman, her mother and her teenage son has
pleaded not guilty in the September stabbings.
Craig Garber, age 41, appeared
briefly in court on Wednesday, where General Sessions Judge Cheryl Blackburn
appointed a public defender to represent him.
Garber has been held under a $1
million bond since the killings at the home of 48-year-old Michelle Pinkowski,
her mother Marylea Jordan, and her 14-year-old son Jonathan Culpepper.
Police said Garber stabbed all
three to death in their home on Beech Bend Drive in Bellevue on September 2,
and then stabbed himself.
Garber
lived in the same neighborhood as the victims.
Pinkowski's 9-year-old daughter
managed to escape. Investigators said the girl woke up on the couch and saw her
grandmother being stabbed. She took off through a back door and ran to a
neighbor's house.
Jason Zimmerman opened his door to find the 9-year-old begging for
help.
"She said she saw him stab
her grandma 16 or 17 times," said Zimmerman. "That is what she
said."
Zimmerman grabbed his gun and ran to the house to find out
what was going on. He said he saw Garber walking around calmly inside, but
he would not answer the door.
When police arrived, they said Garber answered the door
covered in blood.
Neighbors said the scene was shocking, and the lives of "good
people" were cut short.
Jacki Allison lived in-between Garber and the
three victims.
"These were people I
prayed with, and despite all their issues they were nice people. Even Craig
with all his issues, deep down these people were good people," she said.
A
court hearing was expected in about six weeks.
(NewsChannel5 and The Associated Press.)
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