Trial date scheduled for Austin man charged with murder, attempted murder and assault in December knife attack

A trial date has been scheduled in Mower County District Court for an Austin man charged with murdering a teenage boy who was protecting his mother from a knife attack.  

27-year old Jaime Arquimides Vaca is charged with 2nd degree murder, attempted 2nd degree murder, and 1st degree assault. Authorities reported that Vaca attacked a woman in the 800 block of 3rd Avenue NW in Austin on the morning of December 15, 2020. Vaca allegedly stabbed the woman and then stabbed her teenage son, 15-year-old Julio Rodriguez, as he attempted to protect her.  Rodriguez died as a result of the attack, and his mother was flown to Mayo Clinic/St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester where she underwent extensive surgeries to save her life.  

Austin Police stated that they arrested Vaca after finding him at the scene with a knife in his hands. Vaca pleaded not guilty to all charges against him on December 28, 2020, and his trial in Mower County District Court is scheduled to start on August 2nd.