Prosecutors said the attempted homicide defendant had completed a sentence about three weeks before the attack.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Prosecutors cited a recent prison release as a Green Bay man appeared in court on charges that he entered a woman’s home and stabbed her in the chest.
Justin Thomas Bacon, 29, was charged June 4 with attempted first-degree intentional homicide and armed burglary after a June 2 attack in the 900 block of North Clay Street. Both counts include repeat-offender modifiers. Brown County Assistant District Attorney Amy Pautzke said at Bacon’s initial appearance that he had been incarcerated until about three weeks before the stabbing, a detail that became part of the bond argument in a case involving a surviving victim, child witnesses and a police search.
The earlier prison term came from a 2021 case in which Bacon struck his stepfather in the head 12 times with a baseball bat. He pleaded no contest to recklessly endangering safety in that case. Prosecutors brought up that history after police said Bacon carried out another violent attack, this time against a 39-year-old woman he did not personally know. The new complaint says Bacon had been visiting a neighbor before the stabbing and heard the woman yelling at one of her children. Police said he then went to her home, entered without consent while armed with a knife and attacked her. The state charged the case as attempted first-degree intentional homicide with use of a dangerous weapon, along with armed burglary, making both the alleged intent and the alleged forced entry central issues for the court.
The June 2 call came in around 10:30 a.m. Officers responded to the North Clay Street address and found the woman with a stab wound to the chest. Police gave first aid at the scene, and the woman was taken to a hospital. The complaint says a witness described Bacon coming into the home through the living room while accusing the woman of hurting her children. The witness said Bacon threatened the woman as he stabbed her. In later statements, the victim said Bacon told her she was already dead. She said in court that she did not realize at first that he was stabbing her until several blows had landed. Her children were present, and she told the court they watched her bleed after the attack.
The presence of the children became more than a background fact. Police said the woman’s 12-year-old son struck Bacon twice with a stick to defend his mother. Another witness also intervened before Bacon left the home. Those details gave investigators direct witnesses to the alleged attack and helped support the claim that the stabbing happened inside the residence. Police have not released the names of the woman or the children in the main charging reports. They also have not said that Bacon had any prior relationship with the victim. The woman told investigators she did not know him personally but knew of him through a witness who had been outside the home. That account could matter as the case moves forward because it separates the alleged motive from any known dispute between Bacon and the woman.
The alleged motive described in the complaint was Bacon’s belief that the woman had hurt her children. Police asked the woman about that claim. She said that about two weeks earlier she had disciplined her 12-year-old son but described it as not excessive. She also said she sometimes screams or hollers at her children and that someone could have overheard her yelling and believed something more serious was happening. The complaint does not say Bacon saw the woman abuse a child. It says he heard yelling while he was nearby and then entered the home. Authorities have not reported any child abuse charge against the woman. The unknowns include what Bacon heard, what he believed and whether anyone else spoke to him before he crossed from the neighbor’s property to the victim’s house.
After the stabbing, Bacon fled on a blue mountain bike, police said. Officers searched the area, and a nearby school was placed in a temporary “secure the building” status during the search. Police later took Bacon into custody near Main and Abrams streets. One local report said the search lasted about four hours; another said he was found about an hour after the attack. Police said Bacon had clothing with blood on it when he was located. They also believed he may have jumped in a river to hide. After his arrest, Bacon denied knowing anything about the stabbing and denied knowing the woman. The case record made public so far does not fully explain the timing difference in the reported search length or identify all physical evidence recovered by investigators.
The court stage began with high stakes for both sides. Prosecutors had to outline why they believed the charges and bond were justified. Bacon, like any defendant, is presumed innocent unless proved guilty in court. The attempted homicide count will require prosecutors to prove intent, while the armed burglary count will focus on the alleged unlawful entry and the presence of a weapon. The repeat-offender modifiers could increase the legal exposure if Bacon is convicted. The victim’s court statement, the child’s intervention, witness accounts from inside and outside the home, medical records and any forensic testing of clothing or other evidence are likely to shape the next phase.
Bacon was ordered held on $750,000 cash bond at the Brown County Jail. That bond amount reflected the seriousness of the charges and the concerns prosecutors raised about his record and recent release. The case was scheduled to continue with a July 2 court date. By that point, attorneys were expected to address the complaint, review discovery and move the case through early criminal procedure. No trial date was listed in the initial reports. Police also had not announced whether additional charges were expected. The next hearings could clarify the evidence, the witness list and whether the defense challenges probable cause or bond conditions.
The case also underscored the gap between an alleged suspicion and a violent response. Police said Bacon believed the woman had hurt her children, but the charges accuse him of entering a home and stabbing her, not of reporting a concern or seeking official help. The victim’s statement in court focused on fear and survival. She said Bacon kept telling her to die, and she described her children seeing the attack’s aftermath. For neighbors, the sequence began with a conversation nearby and ended with police, medics and a search across part of Green Bay. For the court, it became a case built around intent, entry, weapon use, witness accounts and a defendant’s prior record.
For now, Bacon remains in custody on the $750,000 cash bond as the case awaited its next listed hearing on July 2. The woman survived, and prosecutors continued pursuing the attempted homicide and armed burglary charges in Brown County court.
Author note: Last updated July 8, 2026.