A Pierce County Superior Court judge has ruled that the woman accused of fatally stabbing 40-year-old Molly Marie Bell inside a Milton townhome last December was legally insane at the time of the killing, sending her to state psychiatric custody instead of prison. Judge Stanley Rumbaugh concluded on September 3 that Mi Lanique Jenkins was unable to tell right from wrong because of a mental disease or defect, and found her a substantial danger to others.
The ruling closes out, at least for now, a case that began on December 22, 2025, when Milton police were dispatched to a townhome in the 1200 block of 24th Avenue Court, according to The News Tribune. Officers arrived at about 1:50 p.m. and found Jenkins outside covered in blood; she refused to speak with investigators, according to KING 5. Officers rendered emergency aid to Bell inside the residence, but fire department personnel declared her dead at the scene.
How the Encounter Unfolded Inside the Townhome
According to the News Tribune’s reporting, Jenkins had arrived outside her former roommate’s townhome shortly before 1 p.m. and deceived Bell by falsely claiming the roommate had authorized her entry, telling Bell she had permission to come in and use the restroom. The former roommate said she allowed Jenkins inside out of pity, and had earlier called Bell to ask her to give Jenkins a ride to her uncle’s place. Bell arrived at the townhome at about 1:40 p.m.
While the former roommate was upstairs, Jenkins went to the bathroom, and the roommate later told police she heard a knife drawer open. The roommate then saw Jenkins charging at Bell. Jenkins retrieved a knife from the kitchen after Bell fought her, and also grabbed a cord in an attempt to strangle Bell, per the same account. The former roommate ran out a back door and sought help from neighbors as the attack occurred. Bell died from multiple sharp-force injuries. Milton police arrested Jenkins without incident, and the case was investigated with help from the Metro Cities Crime Response Unit.
From Second-Degree Charge to Insanity Finding
Jenkins was originally booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder, before prosecutors upgraded the charge to premeditated first-degree murder with a deadly weapon based on evidence gathered by detectives, Hoodline previously reported on the Milton case. Following the stabbing, Milton Police Chief Tony Hernandez noted that officers are rarely called to emergency incidents at the townhome complex near Surprise Lake, saying the small city rarely experiences violent homicides, according to KING 5…