BEAVER DAM, Wis. — A Fall River teen is accused of stabbing a 17-year-old girl before running her over with a car, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in the Dodge County Circuit Court.
Dylan Lenz, 17, is charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Police said Saturday that Lenz had struck a juvenile with a vehicle; that juvenile — a 17-year-old girl — suffered critical, life-threatening injuries.
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Police said the girl had road rash across her body and was struggling to breathe when she was found in a Walmart parking lot. The girl’s left arm was also injured, and she was bleeding from her nose and mouth. She was taken by helicopter to American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison.
Police found tire marks along a southbound hill near the parking lot and on a section of grass near the parking lot, as well as a piece of a black license plate cover.
A witness reported that he and his friends were in a nearby parking lot when they saw an SUV bounce as it drove away from the parking lot. They reportedly saw the vehicle move forward over the girl’s body, then reverse, then drive over her body before leaving the scene. The witness pursued the SUV but stopped when it became dangerous. They then returned to the scene to call 911.
Police used a camera system to identify the suspect vehicle, which was registered to Lenz’s father. The complaint alleges that while police were at Lenz’s home to speak with him, his parents became uncooperative and confrontational. Police ultimately decided to take Lenz to the Fall River Police Department for further questioning.
A vehicle parked in front of Lenz’s house allegedly had blood drops in the back seat and on the outside. Lenz’s mother reportedly said that the blood was from Lenz after a girl hit him in the nose in the back seat. The bottom of the front black license plate cover was missing.
According to the complaint, Lenz initially told police that he went to Walmart to meet the victim after the two met on Snapchat. They went to his car and drove around the parking lot. Lenz said the two were “playfighting” in his car when she hit his nose. He then made her get out of the car, and as he was driving away he “hit a curb.”
After further questioning, police showed Lenz a picture of the injured victim. Lenz then changed his story. He said he didn’t know the girl’s name but they had met through an app, which he had since deleted.
Lenz then said he picked the girl up at her apartment and took her to Walmart. The two went shopping before returning to the car. Lenz then moved to the nearby Goodwill parking lot. He then reached into the trunk of his vehicle and grabbed a box cutter, but put it down.
According to the complaint, Lenz told police that he began choking the victim. He began to choke her harder and she started tapping his arm. At that point, Lenz allegedly told police that he stabbed her multiple times in the right shoulder using the box cutter.
When asked why he stabbed the girl, Lenz reportedly told police “I was having these really bad thoughts.”
Lenz reportedly said that the two began fighting for the knife after he stabbed her, and he eventually let her out of the car. He then said that he drove after the victim because he “could get in a lot of trouble for attempted murder.”
The complaint alleges that Lenz admitted to hitting the victim with his car while she was running down a hill before reversing and hitting her a second time. Lenz reportedly said that he left the scene after seeing a car approach him.
When asked why he ran over the victim, he reportedly said “I was trying to kill her.”
According to the complaint, Lenz told police that had the green car not arrived, he would have taken the victim’s body and disposed of it in a garbage bag or buried it.
“I was out of control. I wasn’t thinking,” Lenz reportedly said. “My body just took over.”
During an initial appearance on Monday, Lenz’s cash bond was set at $150,000. Under the conditions of his bond, he is not allowed to have any contact with the victim, her home, her family, her school, her health care providers or her workplace.
He was also ordered to stay at home except to go to school, court hearings, work or health care appointments. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 17.
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