Father facing attempted murder charge for attacking alleged sex offender who made remark about his minor daughter

A Utah man has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing a man 17 times after the victim allegedly made comments about his minor daughter.

Thad James Gurule, 32, is accused of luring the unnamed man to an industrial area in the small town of Wellington and stabbing him repeatedly.

He was booked into Carbon County Jail on Wednesday.

Wellington police were dispatched just after midnight on December 1 after getting a call about seeing a man covered in blood.

They soon found the stabbing victim, who had “multiple stab wounds and lacerations throughout his body,” according to a probable cause statement obtained by Fox 13. The man was later taken to a “specialized hospital” for treatment. His present condition is unknown.

In an interview with police, Gurule said he met the victim a few days prior at a local post office, where the man “made comments about his minor child.”

Gurule later did an internet search about the man and came to believe he was a sex offender.

The 32-year-old later confessed he “intended to kill” the man to “protect his daughter,” according to the probable cause statement.

After stabbing the man repeatedly with a red knife, Gurule gestured that the man should “think again before making comments about his daughter, and left as [the victim] was laying on the ground,” according to police.

A search of the man’s apartment revealed suspected marijuana and methamphetamine and associated paraphernalia, and Gurule is also facing drug charges.

After the alleged stabbing, police urged members of the public not to take the law into their own hands (PA Wire)

“Please don’t take the law into your own hands like this,” Wellington Police Department Sergeant Kevin Saccomano told Fox 13. “Please contact authorities any time you need us.”

The Independent has contacted Gurule, the Wellington Police Department, and the Carbon County Jail for more information.

Public records show that Gurule lives in Price, about six miles away from Wellington.

He appears to have previously pleaded guilty or been found guilty of drug offenses and a disorderly conduct charge.

Wellington is a town of about 1,500 people, roughly 125 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.