EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Taking no chances on risking public safety, a judge set bail at $1 million for a man accused in the gruesome stabbing of his mother over the weekend. Michael Jon Hurlburt, age 27, was arrested at mother’s apartment and held for first-degree murder. Conviction could mean life in prison. An autopsy concluded that the victim was stabbed 44 times, mostly in the neck and upper back. One stab wound punctured her lung. Another severed her jugular. Another severed her carotid artery.
Criminal complaint
In the criminal complaint, investigators quoted Hurlburt that earlier in the day he asked his mother to pick him up at a Dairy Queen in Menomonie because he wanted his last meal before getting arrested. Then he asked to talk with her alone back at her Eau Claire apartment. He admitted to stabbing her 30 to 40 times, investigators said.