Howard County Man Critically Stabs Twin, Steals Her Car, Leads NJ Cops On Police Chase

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A 23-year-old Ellicott City man wanted for the attempted murder of his twin sister was apprehended in her vehicle in New Jersey Sunday.

Around 8:13 p.m. Dec. 3, the Edison, New Jersey, police department received a Sirius XM alert about a stolen Subaru Outback with Maryland license plates entering the township. Edison Police Officer Phil Smith found the vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed, driven by Reese E. Wetzel, who was wanted for the attempted murder of his twin.

Wetzel was a passenger in a vehicle parked in front of a home in the 3200 block of Wheaton Way in Ellicott City around 4:15 p.m. Sunday when he stabbed his sister, who was in the driver’s seat, Howard County police told NJ.com. The sister is listed in critical but stable condition, a Howard County police spokeswoman said.

Smith pursued Wetzel for almost an hour to another town in New Jersey near the New York state line where Wetzel stopped the vehicle in the middle of the interstate and refused to get out. He ended up being forcibly removed from the vehicle by Edison police officers and New Jersey state troopers.

Wetzel faces charges from the Edison Police Department that include receiving stolen property, eluding with substantial risk of physical injury, fugitive from justice, resisting arrest and obstructing administration of law.