A man who previously attacked strangers is now accused of murdering his 69-year-old neighbor

DES MOINES, Wash. — A man who prosecutors say has an “ongoing history of unprovoked attacks on unsuspecting strangers” is now charged with murder after beating a 69-year-old Des Moines woman to death, according to charging documents.

Jake Berman, 39, is accused of punching Marla Knigge, 69, multiple times and then stabbing her in the neck with tweezers outside the door of her home at the Spyglass condominium at 21937 7th Ave South in Des Moines on Aug. 4.

Prosecutors on Friday filed one count of second-degree murder against Berman after the medical examiner officially ruled Knigge’s death a homicide and DNA from the tweezers was matched to Berman.

Investigators believe Berman attacked Knigge when she was coming home to her apartment after a trip to a nearby store.

The police quickly became suspicious of Berman, whose mother lives on the floor above Knigge.

According to a police report, Berman was a suspect in the violent attack on a 72-year-old man who was punched and kicked during a robbery two weeks earlier in the same neighborhood.

“As I continued to review Jake’s history, I discovered that he has a tendency to prey on unsuspecting victims,” ​​Des Moines Police Detective Brian Flynn wrote in the arrest report.

2024 incidents involving Jake Berman in Des Moines (from police reports):

• August 4 – the fatal attack on Marla Knigge
• July 21 – A 72-year-old man was beaten and robbed on 6th Avenue in Des Moines
• April 21 – A domestic violence incident that prompted a SWAT response
• April 9 – Attack on guests in Spyglass Condos parking lot
• February 5 – Assault on a customer at the Safeway on Pacific Highway South

On the night of Knigge’s murder, Detective Flynn asked Berman’s mother if he could talk to him.

“I told (Berman’s mother) that the investigation into the attack on her neighbor (the July 21st assault and robbery) is active and ongoing and her son Jake has been identified as a person of interest,” Flynn wrote. “(The mother) was shocked and stated that Jake is always home and never leaves the residence. (The mother) refused my requests that Jake speak to me about his involvement in person or on the phone.’

The next day, on August 5, Flynn obtained an arrest warrant for Berman in connection with the July 21 attack. Des Moines police responded to the Spyglass condominium and arrested Berman, noting in a report that he had “fresh injuries” to his knuckles and hands.

Police took Berman to jail on suspicion, but a nurse said the injuries to Berman’s arm were too serious to warrant a conviction. A prison nurse said Berman claimed he “fought the cops before being arrested,” but officers said that was not true.

“Jake did not fight the officers during the arrest, but observations by the jail nurse further strengthened my belief that Jake’s arm and leg/ankle injury appeared to be fresh and resulted from some sort of assault,” Flynn wrote.

According to the report, investigators searched the Bermans’ apartment and found blood-stained clothing as well as dried blood on the doorknob leading to the hallway.

Berman was charged Aug. 8 with robbery in the July 21 case and was being held in the King County Jail.

On October 21, the Washington State Patrol crime lab reported that DNA on the tweezers stuck in Knigge’s neck matched Berman. The King County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide that same day.

Berman was in custody when he was charged with the Oct. 27 murder. He remains in custody on $2 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on November 7.