Martinsburg man charged with murder in Monday stabbing death

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Department has charged a Martinsburg resident with murder in the stabbing death of a local man who intervened in a domestic incident in the early hours of Monday, September 5. Gabriel J. Cardwell, 21, has been arrested and jailed on the murder charge. The victim of the stabbing has been identified as Scott Allen Mullen, 47, of Berkeley Springs. Sheriff’s deputies responded to several calls about a disturbance in the 9000 block of Winchester Grade Road shortly after 1 a.m. on Monday. Callers told emergency responders that there had been an incident and there was an individual on the property who had been asked to leave several times but wouldn’t.  As they travelled to the location, police were updated that there had been a stabbing at that property. Deputies Knotts and Roper responded to the location and a group of individuals were standing on Route 13 waving officers to their location. As Deputy Knotts approached the group, they yelled “he has been stabbed” and directed the officer further along the road to where he could see a tall, slender man in blood-covered clothing. According to a criminal complaint filed in Morgan County Magistrate  Court, Deputy Knotts then located a second man lying along the roadway at the entrance to Musketeer Lane also covered in blood. Knotts secured Gabriel Cardwell in his cruiser along with a knife suspected to have been used in the stabbing. He and Deputy Roper then attempted to render trauma care to the victim of the stabbing until Morgan County EMS arrived and took over medical interventions. Scott Mullens was declared deceased on the scene. During their investigations on the scene and while rendering aid to Mullens, officers observed the victim had multiple stab wounds in the abdomen, arms, chest and neck, all consistent with a sharp-tipped blade, and had lost a large quantity of blood. With additional officers on the scene, police were able to observe and mark an evidence trail several hundred feet long that included blood, the victim’s hat and pieces of a cell phone. Witnesses of the incident told police that Cardwell had come to the residence and was told to leave several times. Cardwell then allegedly had a domestic confrontation with a woman at that location, reportedly pushing her to the ground and stealing her phone. Individuals told police that Mullen, who was visiting that residence, tried to intervene in the confrontation for the safety of those there. During the altercation, Mullen told at least one person at the scene that he thought he had been stabbed. Friends tried to assist him, walking him to the end of the lane and calling EMS for help. Mullen died of his injuries along the roadway, said police. Cardwell allegedly admitted to police at the scene that he had gone to the residence to talk with a woman, and Mullen confronted him when the interaction turned into a domestic altercation. Cardwell reportedly told police he then stabbed Mullen an unknown number of times. During a medical examination attended by Lt. Seth Place, Mullen’s injuries were determined to include at least 13 stab wounds. An investigation into the death is ongoing, including blood evidence analysis. Chief Deputy Johnnie Walter, Lt. Place, Deputy Roper and Deputy Knotts were the responding officers. Deputy Knotts is the arresting officer in the case.