Man stabs self in chest during domestic dispute

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint man reported stabbed himself in the chest during an argument Monday.

Justin Charles DiGiulio, 21, is charged with aggravated assault, a felony. He is expected to make an initial appearance in magistrate court today.

DiGiulio was treated at Bonner General Hospital and released before he was taken to jail.

DiGiulio accosted a woman identified as his girlfriend, Melonie Nicole Mandolf-Nazelrod, at a residence on 122 North Ella around 2:45 p.m. after they'd apparently had an argument elsewhere, said Police Chief Mark Lockwood.

When DiGiulio arrived at the North Ella residence, Mandolf-Nazelrod was in the kitchen cutting cheese. The two began to argue and he grabbed her free hand, asking if she wanted to stab him with the knife, Lockwood said.

According to police, she said no, and DiGiulio grabbed her hand holding the knife, attempting to lunge it back toward her.

Mandolf-Nazelrod avoided the knife. Then DiGiulio asked her if she wanted to see somebody stabbed and stabbed himself in the chest.

After stabbing himself, DiGiulio left the residence. Police tracked him down and took him to Bonner General Hospital, where treatment providers found the blade had not entered the chest cavity, Lockwood said.

An investigation is ongoing.