EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains discussion of physical violence and references to domestic abuse. If you or someone you know needs help, please call 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S., or reach out to Survivor Support Services on campus.
On Feb. 15 at 2:13 a.m., the University of Arizona Police Department responded to the break-in and assault of a UA student in her dorm room at Arbol de la Vida Residence Hall in which the student and her two attackers were injured. The investigation is ongoing, and all listed information is based on initial police reports.
According to UAPD, two suspects named Ryan Marshall and Frankie Trotty were arrested in the emergency room following the incident. Neither man has any affiliation with the UA. The details of the case strongly indicate premeditation and targeting the victim on the part of the suspects, who had a domestic violence relationship and a history of altercation with Marshall.
Surveillance footage showed Marshall and Trotty tailgating into the residence hall at approximately 1:57 a.m. and showed the victim arriving shortly after. In the footage, the victim appears to be aware that Marshall and Trotty were there, and she tried to enter the dorm without being seen by the men.
Marshall and Trotty then entered a study room of the residence hall and forced their way into the victim’s room as she entered.
Marshall assaulted the victim and threw her to the ground, and then reportedly told Trotty to “get the gun.”
The victim was able to pull a kitchen knife from a drawer and slash it at both men. Marshall sustained a stab to the back while Trotty received cuts to his hands. This caused Marshall and Trotty to run off in separate directions. The victim chased after Marshall and threw her knife at him as she chased him. The knife missed Marshall, and he picked up the knife before running away until he escaped the residence hall.
UAPD responded to the area of Tyndall Avenue and University Boulevard due to a reference from the Tucson Police Department regarding a stabbing victim being seen at the location. Officers did not find any indication of a stabbing at the scene. However, UAPD dispatch was advised of a man with a knife running out of Arbol de la Vida Residence Hall.
Officers searched the dorm to find the victim with multiple abrasions across her torso, legs and arms. However, they were unable to locate Marshall or Trotty when they searched the area. They were able to collect DNA evidence in the dorm room and in the residence hall’s emergency stairwell exit.
At approximately 3:27 a.m., TPD was alerted and informed UAPD that two males were admitted to an emergency room with stab wounds. Officers and UAPD detectives went to the hospital and found the men to be Marshall and Trotty and they interviewed both of them.
Both suspects were transported to the Pima County Jail. Marshall was arrested and booked for aggravated assault and kidnapping related to domestic charges as well as burglary while Trotty was arrested for trespassing of the first degree. Both men were also given 12-month exclusionary orders from UA property.
In addition to the domestic violence aspect of their relationship, Marshall and the victim had a previous altercation on University Boulevard outside No Anchovies in which Marshall is said to have stolen the victim’s marijuana, but the two went their separate ways following the altercation.
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