‘I do believe he was possessed’: Father, neighbor recount night of deadly SLO County attack
Editor’s note: This story describes graphic violence.
The Shandon man accused of fatally stabbing his stepmother and injuring his father will face trial, a judge ruled Thursday morning, after hearing eye-witness testimony about that terrifying summer night.
Justin Buchanan, 33, was charged with murder, attempted murder and assault after allegedly killing his stepmother, Kelly Buchanan, and seriously wounding his father, William “Billy” Buchanan in their Shandon home on July 16, 2023. All three felony charges have added sentencing enhancements for the use of a deadly weapon, in this case a knife.
Billy Buchanan and one of his neighbors both testified in court about their memories of the July night. Up until that moment, Buchanan said his son did not exhibit any behavior that would have led him to believe he was going to murder his stepmother and try to kill him.
“I do believe he was possessed that night,” Billy Buchanan said. “His eyes went completely black, no whites in his eyes. I’d never seen him like that before.”
He said his son had previously become violent one instance before when he was 19 and studying the satanic bible, but attorneys and the judge did not expand on this instance.
Justin Buchanan was found incompetent to stand trial shortly after his arrest. His competency was restored and he was returned from a state hospital to San Luis Obispo County Jail custody in August, court records show.
Justin Buchanan has a history of mental health illness and domestic violence charges, court records show, including one instance where his girlfriend at the time reported Buchanan was “suffering from delusions and had threatened to kill her.”
His father said he was aware his son was being treated for depression with medication around the time of the stabbing.
San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Jesse Marino found there was enough evidence for Justin Buchanan to face trial for murder, first-degree attempted murder and assault. He also found enough probable cause for all the sentencing enhancements. He added that there does appear to be probable cause for the murder to be premeditated.
His next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12.
Shandon father describes son’s attack
Justin Buchanan moved home with his parents about two months before the stabbing, his father testified.
Billy Buchanan said Justin moved home because of problems he was having with his girlfriend, whom he had been living with along with his children in Pismo Beach.
Buchanan said Justin was hurting over the separation and appeared more irritated and agitated, but he didn’t display any behavior that was out of the norm for someone going through that.
About four days before the stabbing, Buchanan said, Justin’s girlfriend’s parents drove to Shandon and dumped Justin’s belongings in the middle of the street outside the home. Buchanan said Justin was upset, understandably, and was “highly agitated” that some items were either damaged or missing. Justin was also upset about whether his girlfriend would let him see his kids, Buchanan said.
He said Justin got along with him and his wife, Kelly, for the most part.
“There may have been some bickering, but nothing to indicate what was to come,” he said.
Around 5 p.m. on July 16, 2023, Kelly, Billy and Justin were all home for the night, Buchanan said. At some point Justin was outside sitting at a bistro table on the back patio. Billy Buchanan went to the backyard to smoke a cigarette, he said.
Justin was “stewing” over the problems he was having with his girlfriend, Buchanan said. When Billy went back inside after he finished smoking, he said he heard Justin say something so he turned around in the doorway.
Justin was angry and said something about his girlfriend’s parents, so Buchanan tried to “parent” him and calm him down.
After a big sigh, Buchanan said Justin stood up and “got in his face.” At some point Justin banged on the table, where there was a 5-inch outdoor knife.
“When he banged his hand on (the) table, I didn’t realize he picked up the knife, so when he grabbed me by my throat and I was being shoved against the kitchen cabinets, I thought he was punching me. I didn’t know he was stabbing me,” Billy testified.
He said Kelly was trying to stop Justin, and Justin turned to Kelly and said, “Would you like to die too, b--ch?”
When Justin turned to Kelly, Buchanan said he tried to stop him but Justin shoved him to the ground. He was stabbed multiple times in the stomach, chest and back of the head.
While Buchanan was on his back, he said, Justin turned and tried to stab him again, but Buchanan blocked it by grabbing a wooden dining chair. The chair’s seat split in half, and Justin then chased his stepmother out the front door.
Buchanan and Kelly can both be heard screaming for help and for Justin to stop on security footage captured outside their home and shown in court.
“Look at the blood, look at the blood,” Buchanan can be heard saying in the video.
“I see it,” Justin responds.
The security footage shown in court shows Justin chasing Kelly outside the house, tackling her, then making a stabbing motion with his arm seven times as Kelly screams for help.
Buchanan said he wasn’t sure when exactly he got up, but he made his way into the master bedroom to call 911.
“I was bleeding everywhere. I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. I just knew it was a lot of blood,” Buchanan said, adding that he struggled to call 911 because the blood dripping on his phone was interfering with the touchscreen.
He said he didn’t know where Justin and Kelly were, just that they were out of the house.
After Buchanan called 911, he said Justin came into the master bedroom and tried to end his life. Buchanan said he just screamed at his son “I love you, I love you,” which can also be heard on the security video.
Justin left the room, and Buchanan then went out the front door. He said he knelt down by his wife, saw her wounds and said she didn’t respond to any nudges or him calling her name.
Then, Buchanan said he got the sense he was in “immediate danger” and ran across the street to his neighbors, who helped transport him to get medical attention.
Buchanan was stabbed a total of five times, he said. Three puncture wounds to the chest, one laceration on his stomach and a laceration from the top of his head to his neck.
Neighbor heard screaming from home, saw defendant tackle woman
Neighbor Sergio Rangel testified he was in his workshop at his Shandon residence when he heard screaming from across the street.
He said he heard loud yelling and a female voice screaming, “Get off of him, you’re gonna kill him.”
Rangel said he called his wife outside and heard the same screaming again, before he ran across the street to his neighbors, the Buchanans.
As he ran toward the house, he saw Justin chase Kelly and tackle her “like he was playing football.”
Rangel said he kicked the Buchanans’ fence gate to enter the yard and saw Justin on top of Kelly. He couldn’t tell if Justin was punching or stabbing Kelly as she lay motionless or if Justin was trying to wake her up.
Rangel said he entered the Buchanans’ front yard and yelled “Get off of her, motherf--ker” before kicking Justin in the face. He said Justin flew off of Kelly and took 5 or 6 seconds looking for something on the ground. Rangel said he backed away from Justin and yelled at his wife to call 911.
That’s when Justin “went after” him and Rangel saw he was holding a butcher’s knife, he said.
Rangel’s wife called 911, but then her phone died, Rangel said. He said Justin followed him in a “fast walk” across the street while holding the knife. He cut the back of Rangel’s arm, Rangel said, but the cut was minor, similar to a paper cut.
Rangel said he threw a green trash can at Justin so he could throw his wife his phone to call 911. He said when Justin saw him throw his phone to his wife, Justin changed directions and started to walk toward her.
At that point, Rangel said he started to “freak out” and ran to his workshop to get his handgun. He said Justin swerved back toward him when he went into his shop.
Rangel said he pointed his loaded gun at Justin, which made Justin turn around back toward his house.
Rangel’s wife yelled for Rangel not to use the gun, worried about him being charged with a crime if he did, so Rangel put the gun in his truck and got a baseball bat.
Rangel said he saw Justin check on Kelly, yell “F--k!” loudly, then enter his house through the front door, which the security footage shown in court confirmed.
But as Justin entered the house, Billy Buchanan appeared on a pathway on the side and walked toward Rangel’s house.
Around that time, Rangel’s mother-in-law, who lived down the street, drove over because she had heard the screaming. She told Rangel that Buchanan was hurt, and that’s when Rangel saw Billy with “blood everywhere,” holding his stomach and “all wounded.”
Buchanan got into Rangel’s mother-in-law’s car, and she drove him to get medical help, Rangel said. Just after they left, Justin came back out of his house, checked on Kelly again then walked toward the Rangels’ house.
Rangel said he told Justin to “Come at me, motherf--ker” as he held the bat in his hand. Justin “knew better,” Rangel said, and turned around and went back into his house after the two held eye contact for a few seconds.
“He had a look in his eye like if he was the devil,” Rangel said.
Rangel said he wasn’t sure how long the whole incident lasted from beginning to end, but that to him, it seemed like two minutes.
“It was probably 8 to 7 minutes — that seems like a lifetime. It seemed so fast. I don’t even think it was five minutes. I don’t know if it was adrenaline, me, I think it was just fast,” he said.
