'It's Shocking,' Father Accused Of Stabbing 13-Year-Old Daughter And Wife At Middleton Home

MIDDLETON (CBS) – A father identified as Paul Salvaggio is accused of stabbing his daughter and wife at a home in Middleton early Friday morning, critically wounding the 13-year-old girl.

Police Chief Bill Sampson said they received a 911 call from his wife at the house on Stanley Road just after 6 a.m. for an "ongoing stabbing in progress."

Officers took the 54-year-old into custody and two people were rushed to Beverly hospital with stab wounds, a 54-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl. Police said they saw Salvaggio holding a large kitchen knife and he "had blood all over his hands and arms."

First responders found Salvaggio's wife "naked and covered in blood, screaming that her daughter.  . was upstairs and that she had been stabbed," a police report states. The girl was wearing blood-soaked clothing and said she couldn't breathe, police said.

According to prosecutors, his wife "was stabbed in an effort to protect her daughter."

Sampson said the woman's injuries were "non-life-threatening" and she was later released, but the girl had to be transferred to Boston Children's Hospital where she is in "critical but stable condition," the Essex District Attorney's office said.

Salvaggio was arraigned Friday in Salem District Court and held without bail. The Essex District Attorney's Office said he's charged with two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a child and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury.

A judge entered a not guilty plea on Salvaggio's behalf and ordered him to undergo a psychiatrics evaluation and have no contact with the victims. His next hearing is April 15.

Neighbors told WBZ-TV a family of three lives in the home, but Sampson would not confirm that.

"Due to the nature of this incident I'm not really at liberty to share any more," Sampson told reporters. "It's shocking. It's a tough situation for everybody. These aren't typical things that we see in the town of Middleton or typical things that we at all. So yes, it's troubling."

Neighbors said they were shocked when they heard the details and said the family seemed normal.

"It's tragic. Imagine how the girl feels. Somebody you would trust in your own family would do that. It's going to be frightening for her. She's the only child, so she doesn't have anyone other than the mother," said neighbor Pam Hartman.

Sampson said police have been to the home in the past "but nothing along these lines." He told reporters there is no danger to the public at this time.