Cops: Actor Stabs 2 While Filming School Project

Attempted murder charges follow attack at U of Hartford
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 2, 2019 9:30 AM CDT
Cops: Student Actor's Stabbing Reenactment Turned Very Real
Jake Wascher.   (Hartford Police Department)

A University of Hartford drama student told police he was too "into his character" when he allegedly stabbed two people while re-creating a scene from The Butterfly Effect. "My emotions got the best of me" was actually Jake Wascher's second explainer, per a police report. It describes the 21-year-old as initially claiming he'd been "curious what it would be like to stab someone," reports the Hartford Courant. Either way, Wascher is charged with two counts of attempted murder after police were called to a university dorm room at 1:30pm Sunday. One witness said Wascher stabbed 21-year-old Brandon Gasparino, who was directing him in a reenactment of a stabbing scene from 2004's The Butterfly Effect, before turning on 19-year-old Thomas Nee, who'd ordered him to stop.

Wascher stabbed Nee, then threw the knife at him, the witness said. Another witness later saw a 6- to 7-inch kitchen knife stuck in Nee's chest, per the Courant. Both Nee and Gasparino were taken to a hospital with wounds to the chest and back, while Wascher fled into a wooded area, police say. Apprehended two hours later—as prospective students toured campus, per FOX61—Wascher allegedly said he'd dropped "the scissors ... that I used to do it," per the Courant, though officers say a knife was taken from the dorm. Wascher was in Hartford Hospital after a psychiatric evaluation Monday as his bail was set at $1 million. As of Monday, Nee remained in critical condition following surgery at St. Francis Hospital, per ABC News and the Courant. Gasparino has been released. (A model fatally stabbed his rival.)

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