VISTA — A man who stabbed and seriously wounded his ex-girlfriend outside a Carlsbad Costco store was sentenced today to nearly two decades in state prison.
Charles William Higgins, 64, was convicted of attempted murder, domestic violence and violation of court order charges in connection with the March 23, 2018, stabbing attack in the parking lot of the Costco store on Palomar Airport Road.
The victim was stabbed multiple times in the back and neck at about 2:45 p.m. that day.
Prosecutors said that at the time of the stabbing, she had a protective order against Higgins, who previously pleaded guilty to making criminal threats against the woman, whose name was withheld.
Higgins, who received a 19-year, eight-month sentence, was arrested hours after the stabbing in Temecula, where police said he doused himself in gasoline and tried to set himself on fire in an apparent suicide attempt.
