Two Grayville women were stabbed early Tuesday morning at an apartment in downtown Grayville. One of the victims remains in critical condition at an Evansville hospital. The other was treated and released. The names of the victims have not been released at this time by police authorities.
The suspect has been identified as prison parolee, Sanjay J. Lewis, 45, of Grayville.
Grayville Police Chief David Burrows says the stabbing happened around 1:20 a.m. Tuesday morning at an apartment in the 100 block of Main Street. “A passerby called 911 after witnessing someone busting out windows in the apartment, Chief Burrows said. “The individual was attempting to get in to help the stabbing victims.”
The suspect fled on foot, police said, and remains on the loose. A massive manhunt was launched in the predawn hours Tuesday with no firm sightings of the suspect.
Grayville, White County and Illinois State Police officers were involved in the man hunt. A police source stated that authorities “pinged” the suspect’s cell phone, indicating Lewis might be on or near “The Point,” a spit of land just across the Bonpas Creek in Wabash County. Further investigation revealed the information was not accurate after Lewis’ phone was recovered from the crime scene.
Lewis is described as a black male with black hair and brown eyes. He is 5′ 7” tall and weighs 190 pounds. He has a two-inch knife scar on his upper right arm. Chief Burrows asked that anyone seeing Sanjay Lewis to call 911 and not approach him.
Lewis was recently released from the Stateville Prison near Joliet after serving a ten-year prison sentence for aggravated kidnapping out of White County. Prison records show he was released on parole on March 29, 2019 and will remain on parole status until Dec. 2, 2021. Lewis also has another felony conviction out of White County for theft and a misdemeanor charge of resisting law enforcement.
