An Oklahoma prosecutor who police say was stabbed by his adult daughter called Wednesday for more state funding for mental illness programs.
“(Tuesday) my family went through one of the hardest days of our lives,” Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said in a roughly nine-minute statement to reporters before leaving without answering questions .
“The elected leaders of our state, the elected leaders of our state legislature need to make this a priority” and increase funding for mental health treatment, said Kunzweiler, 60, who showed no signs of visible from the attack.
Jennifer Kunzweiler, 30, was arrested after the stabbing at Kunzweiler’s home Tuesday, Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said. on Twitter.
“Tulsa police have criminal jurisdiction and will work this case like all other cases,” Franklin wrote.
Police Capt. Richard Meulenberg said Wednesday that Jennifer Kunzweiler was taken to a hospital after her arrest at the family home, where she also lived. She was treated for self-inflicted cuts she suffered before stabbing her father in the arm and midsection.
The motive for the stabbing remained under investigation, according to Meulenberg.
“We know there’s some mental illness here,” Meulenberg said, “but we haven’t interviewed him” to determine a motive.
Jennifer Kunzweiler remained hospitalized Wednesday and will likely face a charge of domestic violence with a dangerous weapon when she is released, Meulenberg said.
Meulenberg said Tulsa police have no record of prior criminal contact with Jennifer Kunzweiler, and online court records show no charges in her history.
Steve Kunzweiler, who was elected first district attorney in 2014 and won re-election in 2018, is unopposed for re-election in November.
The stabbing is the third of an elected official in Oklahoma in recent years.
Tulsa District Judge Sharon Holmes was stabbed in her home by her adult daughter, Adrienne Smith, in 2019.
State Labor Commissioner Mark Costello was killed in 2015 when he was stabbed in a restaurant parking lot in Oklahoma City by his adult son, Christian Costello, in 2015.
