Geoff Baker, Mariners' blogger for the Seattle Times, published an article Tuesday afternoon that sheds a little more light on what may have happened on the night of November 21st, when Greg Halman was fatally stabbed. An already devastating situation becomes even more tragic as Baker has passed on information that Halman's brother Jason, the only suspect, had been demonstrating signs of psychological problems or mental illness in the days and weeks prior to the killing.
Per Jason Halman's lawyer, Frits Huizinga, the younger brother of the Mariners' outfielder had began to talk aloud to himself and exhibit very strange behavior starting around November 13th. This alarmed the Halman family, who consulted a doctor. The doctor visited the apartment that Jason and Greg shared on Sunday the 20th, and recommended that Jason visit specialist the next day.
That night, the younger Halman went out until approximately 5am. He returned the apartment without his keys and Greg let him in. Baker relays Huizinga's account of what happened next:
Jason began playing music with the volume turned up loud. Sources close to Halman's family have told me Jason did this in order to block out the voices he'd hear in his head.
Huizinga told me he has not heard that explanation directly from his client, so he could not confirm it. But he did confirm that loud music was played in the apartment and that Greg Halman went back downstairs to see what was going on.
It was soon after that the Mariners outfielder was slashed in the throat, severing his carotid artery.
Jason Halman is being held in the killing, and will be kept under psychiatric evaluation for the next several months.
Very sad, tragic series of events. Make sure to check out Geoff Baker's excellent ongoing coverage of the situation, including a piece detailing Greg Halman's funeral Tuesday in the Netherlands.