A former Gillette high school track coach will return to Washington state to face an attempted first-degree murder charge for allegedly stabbing his brother-in-law multiple times.
Thomas Krogman, 68, told a judge Tuesday that he won’t fight extradition to Clarkston, Washington, where he’s accused of stabbing a man in the lobby of a Motel 6. He was arrested at his home in Gillette last Wednesday.
He’s accused of driving to the Motel 6 in Clarkston, Washington, two days earlier and stabbing his brother-in-law, 72-year-old Daniel Henry, eight times in the face, chest and abdomen.
Krogman appeared before Campbell County Circuit Court Judge Paul Phillips on Tuesday morning for an identification hearing. He sat at the defendant’s table in a jail-issued orange jumpsuit in handcuffs with his attorney, Ronald Wirthwein.
At the start of the hearing, Wirthwein told the judge his client planned to waive his extradition rights that he’d previously declined to do at his initial court hearing Thursday.
Wirthwein did not immediately return Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment.
Krogman will be detained without bond at the Campbell County Detention Center pending his extradition.
If convicted, Krogman faces up to life in a Washington prison.
Confrontation In Lobby
The stabbing dates back to June 2 when Krogman allegedly walked into the hotel lobby in Clarkston where Henry worked as a manager and confronted him, asking Henry if he remembered him, according to the narrative of probable cause filed in Asotin County Superior Court in Washington.
“Not really,” Henry told police he responded to Krogman, who reportedly countered: “You don’t?”
When Henry again said he didn’t recognize him, Krogman reportedly pulled out a knife and began stabbing Henry in the head.
Video surveillance gathered from police from a hotel lobby camera shows a man who looks like Krogman wearing a hoodie and ball cap grabbing Henry’s head with his right arm as he pulls him close and plunges a knife at Henry’s head.
The assailant is then seen jumping up and heading to the door before returning to grab the phone off the desk, rip the cord out of the wall and toss it on the ground, court documents state.
The assailant is then caught on camera jogging across the street and getting into a maroon Chevrolet Malibu.
After he left, Krogman went into the parking lot where he called to a co-worker for help.
He was taken to an area hospital, where he was treated for eight nonfatal stab wounds to the cheek, chest and abdomen.
Technology Ties Plates To Wyoming
Clarkston police used video surveillance of the maroon car caught leaving the scene to license plate readers in neighboring, Lewistown, Idaho, where the same car was recorded passing through shortly after the incident, court documents state.
Using the city’s Flock camera system, officers were able to match the vehicle leaving the scene — down to a sticker on the trunk — that matched a license plate allegedly belonging to Krogman.
At the time of the stabbing, Henry said he didn’t recognize the perpetrator as his brother-in-law, who he said he hadn’t seen for about six years.
However, he did recall a conversation with his sister, who is married to Krogman, about an alleged event dating back to their childhood involving their other sister that happened nearly 60 years ago.
Henry recalled his sister asking for his address, which he provided, while promising to visit soon.
After putting these pieces together, Henry told police that he believed it was Krogman who had attacked him.
Jen Kocher can be reached at jen@cowboystatedaily.com.
