The suspect entered a North Clay Street residence after hearing a mother yell at a child, police said.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — A Green Bay man was charged after police said he walked into a woman’s home on June 2 and stabbed her in the chest after hearing her yell at one of her children.

Justin Thomas Bacon, 29, faces charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and armed burglary, both with repeat-offender modifiers. The case centers on what police described as a sudden home invasion in the 900 block of North Clay Street, where officers found a 39-year-old woman seriously injured. The attack also drew new attention because witnesses told police Bacon had been out of prison only weeks before the stabbing.

Police were called to the home about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday after a report of a stabbing. Officers arrived and found the woman with a chest wound. They gave first aid before she was taken to a hospital. Police said the suspect had left the scene on a blue mountain bike. Investigators later identified him as Bacon, who had been visiting a neighbor before the attack. According to the complaint, Bacon was talking outside or in a garage area when he heard the woman yelling at one of her children. A neighbor told police Bacon then went toward the woman’s house. Soon after, witnesses heard screams from inside the home. One witness later told investigators Bacon entered through the living room while armed with a knife and accused the woman of hurting her children.

The criminal complaint says Bacon repeatedly told the woman she had hurt her kids and was going to die. The woman later told police and the court that the attack happened fast and that she did not realize at first how many times she had been stabbed. In court, the woman said, “This man is dangerous,” and described her children watching her bleed after the attack. Police said her 12-year-old son struck Bacon twice with a stick while trying to protect his mother. Another witness also intervened. Bacon then left the home. Witnesses went inside and found the woman injured. Police have not said that Bacon knew the woman personally. The woman told investigators she did not know him, though she knew of him through someone who had been outside the house before the stabbing.

Investigators said the alleged motive came from Bacon’s belief that the woman had abused her children. The complaint says police asked the woman about that claim after the attack. She told investigators that about two weeks earlier she had disciplined her 12-year-old son, but she said it was not excessive. She also said she sometimes screamed or hollered at her children, and that it was possible someone had overheard her yelling and misunderstood what was happening. Authorities have not announced child abuse charges against the woman. The known court record instead focuses on the stabbing, the forced entry and the weapon allegation against Bacon. Police have also not said whether any prior report had been made at the home before the June 2 attack.

The search for Bacon stretched beyond the home on North Clay Street. Police said he fled on a mountain bike after the stabbing, and officers began looking for him in the area. A nearby school was placed in a temporary “secure the building” status while the search was underway. Police later took Bacon into custody in the area of Main and Abrams streets. One report said the arrest came about four hours after the attack; another said he was found about an hour later. Authorities said Bacon had clothing with blood on it when he was located. Police also believed he may have jumped into a river while trying to hide. Bacon denied knowing anything about the stabbing and denied knowing the woman, according to police. Investigators have not publicly described the knife in detail or said whether they recovered it.

The Brown County District Attorney’s Office charged Bacon on June 4. The attempted homicide charge includes an allegation that he used a dangerous weapon. The armed burglary charge is tied to the accusation that he entered the home without consent while armed. At an initial court appearance, Brown County Assistant District Attorney Amy Pautzke said Bacon had recently completed a prison sentence. She said he had been incarcerated until about three weeks before the North Clay Street case. The earlier case involved a 2021 incident in which Bacon struck his stepfather in the head 12 times with a baseball bat. He later pleaded no contest to recklessly endangering safety in that case. The repeat-offender modifiers in the new case could affect the penalties if Bacon is convicted.

The victim’s statement in court added the sharpest account of the attack. She said Bacon kept saying she was already dead and wanted her to die. Her words placed the children at the center of the case, not as suspects or targets but as witnesses to the violence. Local reports said the woman survived and received hospital treatment for serious injuries. The 12-year-old boy’s effort to strike Bacon with a stick became a key detail in the complaint because it showed a child trying to stop the attack as it unfolded. Police have not released the names of the woman or the children in the main charging reports. The case also left neighbors as important witnesses because they described what Bacon did before entering the home and what they heard before he fled.

Prosecutors are expected to continue the case through the early hearing stage as investigators review witness statements, medical records, police reports and any physical evidence from the home and the arrest area. Bacon remained held on a $750,000 cash bond after the charges were filed in Brown County. His next listed court date was July 2.

Author note: Last updated July 8, 2026.