Man with a history of assaulting strangers now charged with murdering 69-year-old neighbor

DES MOINES, Wash. — A man who prosecutors say has a “consistent history of unprovoked attacks on unsuspecting strangers” is now charged with murder after beating a 69-year-old woman to death in Des Moines, charging documents show.

Jake Berman, 39, is accused of repeatedly punching Marla Knigge, 69, and then stabbing her in the neck with tweezers at the door of her home at the Spyglass Condominiums at 21937 7th Ave South in Des Moines on Aug. 4 .

On Friday, prosecutors filed one charge of second-degree murder against Berman after the medical examiner officially ruled Knigge’s death a homicide and DNA from the tweezers was linked to Berman.

Investigators believe Berman attacked Knigge when she arrived at her apartment after a trip to a nearby store.

The police quickly became suspicious of Berman, whose mother lives one floor above Knigge.

Berman was the suspect in a violent attack on a 72-year-old man who was punched and kicked during a robbery in the same area two weeks earlier, according to a police report.

“As I continued to review Jake’s history, I discovered that he has a tendency to attack unsuspecting victims,” Detective Brian Flynn of the Des Moines Police Department wrote in an arrest report.

2024 incidents involving Jake Berman in Des Moines (from police reports):

• August 4 – fatal attack on Marla Knigge
• July 21 – 72-year-old beaten and robbed on 6th Ave in Des Moines
• April 21 – Domestic violence incident that prompted SWAT response
• April 9 – Attack on guests in the parking lot of Spyglass Condos
• February 5 – Assault on a customer at Safeway on Pacific Highway South

On the night of Knigge’s murder, Detective Flynn asked Berman’s mother if he could talk to him.

“I advised (Berman’s mother) that the investigation into her neighbor’s assault (the July 21 assault and robbery) was active and ongoing and that her son, Jake, had been identified as a person of interest,” wrote Flynn. “(Mother) seemed shocked and said Jake is always home and never leaves the home. (Mother) denied my request to have Jake speak to me in person or on the phone about his involvement.”

The next day, August 5, Flynn obtained an arrest warrant for Berman in connection with the July 21 attack. Des Moines police responded to the Spyglass Condominiums and arrested Berman, noting in a report that he had “new injuries” to his knuckles and hands.

Police took Berman to jail for booking, but a nurse said Berman’s hand injury was too serious to be booked. The jail nurse noted that Berman claimed he “fought with police before his arrest,” but officers said that was not true.

“Jake did not fight with the officers during the arrest, but the jail nurse’s observations have strengthened my belief that Jake’s injuries to his hands and foot/ankle appeared fresh and were the result of some form of assault,” Flynn wrote.

Investigators executed a search warrant on the Bermans’ apartment and found bloody clothing, as well as dried blood on the door handle leading to the hallway, the report said.

On August 8, prosecutors charged Berman with theft for the July 21 case and he was taken into custody at the King County Jail.

On October 21, the Washington State Patrol crime lab reported that the DNA on the tweezers found in Knigge’s neck matched Berman. The same day, the King County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide.

Berman was in custody when he was charged with murder on October 27. He remains in custody on a $2 million bond and will appear in court for an arraignment on November 7.