Morro Bay stabbing suspect charged with murder
A Morro Bay man accused of fatally stabbing another city resident following a physical altercation was charged with murder late Thursday and made his first court appearance Friday morning.
Sean C. Maneely is accused of stabbing 58-year-old Andrew McTaggart at about 3:49 p.m. Jan. 25 near the Morro Bay Self Storage building in the 1100 block of Allesandro Street.
Members of McTaggart’s family traveled from the San Diego area on Friday to attend Maneely’s arraignment in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, where the defendant entered no plea to a single charge of murder as the court searches for an appropriate defense attorney to represent him.
Maneely, 53, is scheduled to be back in court Feb. 6 to enter a plea.
McTaggart, who was stabbed in the upper left chest area, was given emergency aid on scene and transported by ambulance to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, where he later died of his injuries.
Morro Bay Police Chief Jody Cox told The Tribune that several individuals at the scene told responding officers that two males had been involved in a physical altercation prior to the stabbing.
Cox said Maneely and McTaggart knew each other and both lived in Morro Bay. Maneely was arrested at the scene.
Late Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office filed a single charge of murder against Maneely.
He remains in custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail. Superior Court Judge Jesse Marino ordered that he be held without bail.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Maneely faces a minimum of 25 years to life in state prison.
