BELFAST — A man and woman accused of the attempted murder of an area man were indicted by a Waldo County grand jury July 18, following their June arrest. 

Justin Wilmot, 20, and Isabella Noui, 19, both of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, were arrested the day after a June 13 stabbing. Both have been indicted for attempted murder, robbery, elevated aggravated assault, aggravated assault, falsifying physical evidence, and theft by unauthorized taking. 

Details about the case were included in a June 14 affidavit submitted by Belfast Police Sergeant Jennifer Weaver. 

The victim was ultimately transported to a Portland hospital due to his sustained injuries, but was interviewed prior to transport. 

According to the affidavit, the victim, a homeless man, met Wilmot and Noui at the Belfast Soup Kitchen. Later the same evening at a longtime homeless encampment behind Reny’s plaza in Belfast, the victim allowed Wilmot and Noui to use a smaller tent that he had, while the victim lived and slept in his main tent. 

Noui and Wilmot had reportedly traveled to Belfast roughly two weeks before to the stabbing, and had been staying at the victim’s campsite prior to the incident. The trio were reportedly in the victim’s larger tent when Wilmot allegedly, “grabbed [the victim] from behind and started to stab him,” causing a puncture wound in his right cheek, and a substantial cut to the front of the neck, according to the affidavit. The victim was also stabbed in the back. This information was gained from the initial police interview with Noui, though the story would later change.

The knife reportedly used in the attack is described as a filet knife, approximately 12 inches in length, and was kept in a homemade sheath. Wilmot allegedly took the knife with him following the attack. 

When asked if Wilmot said anything during the attack, the victim allegedly stated, “something to the effect of, ‘sorry this isn’t going to cut it,’ and ‘this is for disrespecting my girlfriend.’” There was reportedly no confrontation leading up to the assault. 

After the victim fell to the ground, Wilmot reportedly instructed Noui to grab the victim’s wallet after telling the victim he would go get some alcohol to dull the pain, according to the affidavit. Neither Wilmot nor Noui returned to the scene. 

Both Wilmot and Noui were located at a homeless shelter in Bangor June 14, and were subsequently transported to the Belfast Police Department. The victim reportedly stated that he thought the attack may have been videotaped or pictures may have been taken; he also stated that his disability account had been drained. 

Wilmot and Noui were interviewed separately by Sergeant Weaver.

During his interview with Noui, Weaver reportedly learned the following alleged details about the attack.

According to the affidavit, Noui reportedly waived her Miranda rights before stating that on the night of the attack she had been sleeping in her tent when she heard yelling and swearing coming from the victim’s tent. Noui reportedly said that she saw Wilmot on top of the victim with a curved blade in his hand, and that she wasn’t sure what happened. She learned that the victim was stabbed and she tried to give the victim water to help, but the police were never called. 

Noui reportedly said that the victim needed corporal punishment for his actions against her, which included alleged crude remarks, and propositions. According to the affidavit, Noui stated she felt the victim “deserved it” and that she thought Wilmot had made the attack to protect her honor and keep her safe. 

Wilmot also reportedly waived his Miranda rights, before telling his version of events. Wilmot reportedly stated that the victim had been the one holding two knives threatening to self-harm.

Wilmot reportedly stated he knocked both out of his hands before picking one up the filet knife, which the victim then “ran into,” near his abdomen, and had felt bone. According to the affidavit, Wilmot stated he then made a slashing motion to get the victim away from him, and was unsure of whether he had cut the victim or not. After the victim reportedly fell near a fire pit, Wilmot allegedly climbed on top of him “to calm down.”

When Wilmot was asked why neither he nor Noui called police, he reportedly said that the victim deserved it based on how he treated Noui and he was protecting her. Wilmot was then confronted about the amount and locations of the stab wounds, Wilmot reportedly said, “he might have blacked out because he was so mad at [the victim] and cut him more,” according to Weaver’s affidavit. 

Eventually, Wilmot reportedly admitted stabbing the victim in the back because Noui had told him to, and that Noui had challenged his manhood for letting the victim be so disrespectful to her and not doing anything about it. 

According to the affidavit, when Noui was confronted about the new information, she reportedly admitted that they planned to hurt the victim to “teach him a lesson,” because talking to him didn’t do anything. She also reportedly admitted challenging Wilmot’s manhood and that the two had agreed to assault the victim, something she felt was justified. 

Noui and Wilmot have been held on $80,000 cash bail since their arrest, and would be on supervised release should either be able to pay. They would also be barred from using or possessing  any dangerous weapons. 

Noui is being represented by Attorney Caitlyn Smith, of Bangor.

Wilmot is being represented by Attorney Jeremy Pratt, of Pratt & Simmons, of Camden,

Both Noui and Wilmot are next scheduled to appear in Waldo County Unified Court July 25, with Noui’s scheduled to appear at 8:30 a.m., while Wilmot is scheduled to appear at 1 p.m. The hearings will be for a dispositional conference.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com