CASPER — A 71-year-old Casper man faces three criminal charges after allegedly stabbing a 35-year-old Casper woman and 41-year-old Casper man during a Sunday dispute.
Paul Allen Hilburn was in court Monday to hear the charges against him, two counts of aggravated assault and battery and one of domestic battery.
According to court records made available Tuesday, the charges stem from an altercation that began Saturday between Hilburn and the woman,and then escalated Sunday afternoon into a wrestling match with her. That’s when Casper police say Hilburn allegedly stabbed her in the arm on the bed of his apartment in the 300 block of North Center Street. The male victim tried to intervene and was stabbed as well, police said.
Hilburn appeared in Casper Circuit Court via a video feed from the Natrona County Jail in tan jail garb and handcuffs for his initial appearance, telling Judge Kevin Taheri, “I was losing my apartment because they were there” as an apparent reason for his actions.
Natrona County Chief Deputy District Attorney Blaine Nelson said a recording of the incident made by the female victim had Hilburn stating “I will cut you,” and the victim reacting by saying, “You just stabbed me.”
An arrest affidavit filed in the case shows Hilburn and the female victim have known each other since the woman was a child and Hilburn had been her caregiver for four years during her childhood. In 2024, they began a romantic relationship that broke off, but the pair would occasionally get back together with her staying off and on in his apartment.
On Saturday, the woman was at the apartment. She had brought the 41-year-old male victim over with her, police said. Hilburn became upset about the man’s presence and hit the woman with his fist, striking her on the left side of the neck, according to the arrest affidavit.
The pair then left Hilburn in his apartment and went their separate ways. The woman told police Hilburn texted her about 7 a.m. on Sunday and told her to come back to his apartment and stop with “nasty words.”
An Argument
The woman told police she returned to the apartment at 1 p.m. on Sunday, went to the bedroom, and sat on the bed because she had a headache. At some point later she heard Hilburn and the 41-year-old man arguing. She said she had been unaware that the man had returned to Hilburn’s apartment.
The woman then started recording the incident and told Hilburn and the other male she did not want to be involved in their argument and that “it was not involving her.”
“A subject she identified as (the male victim) was heard on the recording talking. She could be heard telling him to leave and that Hilburn was a ‘pussy,’” the affidavit states.
“Hilburn yelled he was going to ‘cut’ (the woman), then the sound of a scuffle was heard on the recording and (the woman) is heard frantically screaming for (Hilburn) to get off of her,” the affidavit states. “(The woman) eventually screamed ‘you stabbed me, you stabbed me for no reason,’” the affidavit states.
The woman told police she ran from the apartment following the stabbing. Hilburn attempted to follow her and tried to apologize, the affidavit states. She called police about 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
When Casper police arrived, the woman was transported to Banner Wyoming Medical Center. An apartment manager confirmed to police that the victim had run from the apartment yelling that Hilburn stabbed her.'
An Accident
Hilburn told police the stabbing was an accident, and that the woman was staying with him on and off and they would sleep together.
Hilburn told police he did not like people in his apartment and had told the male to leave. He said the female told him the 41-year-old man was homeless and was supposed to enter a treatment center the next day.
Hilburn said the woman returned to his apartment on Sunday morning and then the male victim returned to the apartment on Sunday afternoon. Hilburn told police he and the woman were sitting on the bed, and that he wanted the other man who was sitting outside the bedroom on his couch to leave.
Hilburn told police he had the 4-inch blue folding knife recently sharpened and had the blade open because he was cleaning his shoes.
According to the affidavit, after telling the man to leave while holding the knife, Hilburn said the man grabbed at him and the woman became “argumentative” and tried to hit and kick him and that he “tussled” with them both.
He said he “tussled” with the woman without striking her and that while stretching the knife away from his body, while wrestling, he fell on top of the woman and “accidentally” stabbed her. He said he followed her out of his apartment to render aid and threw his knife on the floor.
Meanwhile on Monday at 7:30 a.m., the 41-year-old tried to check himself into a Casper treatment center and staff noted he had stab wounds to his face and abdomen. He was transported to the hospital for treatment.
The 41-year-old told police that he had attempted to wrestle the knife from Hilburn because he heard the female victim screaming in the bedroom. He told police he entered the bedroom and saw Hilburn holding the knife. He said he attempted to wrestle the knife away from Hilburn and got stabbed before getting control of the knife. He told investigators he threw it in the living room and fled the scene.
The affidavit states police also found a wound on the female victim consistent with her statement of being struck by Hilburn on Saturday.
In the courtroom Monday, Nelson told the judge that the male victim was cut along his jaw line in addition to the abdomen. Nelson said Hilburn had a 2022 possession of controlled substance conviction on his record and asked for a $30,000 cash or surety bond. The judge agreed with his recommendation.
Both aggravated assault and battery charges carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The domestic battery charge is punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $750.
A preliminary exam in the case is set for Jan. 21. Hilburn remains in the Natrona County jail.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
