Mentally Ill Man Who Stabbed Father To 'Rid His Body Of Shape-Shifting Reptile' Arrested

A Tempe man with a mental health disorder, who was arrested last year on suspicion of stabbing his father and later released, was taken back in custody Wednesday.

Isaiah Gentry, now 18, was detained on Feb. 12, 2020, after he stabbed his father 20 times while allegedly trying to rid the victim's body of "a shape-shifting reptile." The incident happened at their residence in the area of 12^th Street in Hardy Drive.

Gentry was home with his father when he hit the older man in the head with a statue before he began punching him in the head and torso. Gentry then drew a steak knife and stabbed his father 20 times in the stomach, arms, legs, torso and back, Arizona Central reported.

According to the outlet, the father tried escaping through the front door, but Gentry followed him and both men got on the ground, fighting. The victim was able to eventually rush to a neighbor’s home and seek help. Meanwhile, Gentry rushed back to his house, took his clothes off and took a shower to wash off the blood.

Court documents showed that Gentry intended to kill his father that day, which is why he had the knife in his pocket, the outlet reported. He told police that he was trying to rid his father of a "shape-shifting reptile," which he believed had taken over his dad. Gentry told officers that he was "the messiah."

After the February arrest, Gentry was sent to a local health facility for mental health treatment. His father's injuries didn't prove to be life-threatening despite the severity of the attack, Fox 10 reported.

After the recent arrest, Gentry was booked into a Maricopa County jail one account of attempted first-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault charges. He is being held against a $500,000 bond.

In November 2019, a 35-year-old Malaysian man stabbed his father to death after the older man objected to his excessive mobile phone use. When the father, Tan Yin Fah, 59, rebuked his son for wasting a lot of time on smartphones, an altercation ensued between the duo during which the father hit his son with a plastic chair. The son then retaliated by picking up a knife and stabbed his father multiple times. The accused was taken into custody and was likely to face a murder charge.