A mentally-challenged man stabbed his foster father with a butter knife multiple times Friday evening for unknown reasons, said Denton County sheriff’s spokesman Tom Reedy.

Marquise Bernard Dennis, 20, is being held in Denton County Jail on a charge of attempted murder, with bail set at $50,000, Reedy said.

Shortly after 5 p.m. on Friday, Dennis approached his foster father from behind and stabbed him in the left side of his chest with a butter knife, he said.

When the victim tried to take the knife away, he was stabbed multiple times in his head and body, Reedy said.

Then the 20-year-old man allegedly bit down on his foster father’s fingers.

The man told police officials he was afraid his foster son would bite his fingers off, so he bit his foster’s sons arm to release the hold, Reedy said.

The bloodied man ran out of his home, followed by his foster son, and the man’s wife called police, he said.

Officials with the sheriff’s office, the Sanger Police Department, the Pilot Point Police Department, Texas Parks and Wildlife officers and Sanger Emergency Medical Service officers responded to the domestic disturbance call.

Both the foster father and son were taken to local hospitals for treatment, Reedy said.

After treatment, Dennis, a Denton County Mental Health/ Mental Retardation client, was taken to the county jail about 1 a.m. Saturday morning and placed in a safety cell on the second degree felony charge, he said.

Other reports

2000 block of Creek Avenue — A woman reported her house was burglarized Friday afternoon, according to a police report.

Investigators reported the front door was kicked in and two televisions, about 100 DVDs and two checkbooks were missing from the residence. 

2800 block of Wind River Lane — A movie theater employee’s sport utility vehicle was broken into Friday, according to a police report.

The vehicle was parked about 10-feet from a theater entrance when a fellow employee heard a car alarm go off.

The driver’s side glass door was broken and police could see pry marks around the window, the report stated.

Nothing in the vehicle was taken.

Lookout Lane — A 39-year-old man reported a woman was harassing both him and his wife with e-mails and text messages last week, after he stopped chatting on the Internet with the suspect, according to a police report.

The alleged suspect told police the man had engaged in cyber-sex with her and she would stop harassing the couple if he would stop calling her, the report stated.

Police told the two to cease contact with each other.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.

Denton County Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in these or other crimes. Callers will remain anonymous. Call 1-800-388-TIPS (8477). To receive crime alerts in your area, visit CrimeWeb.net.