Seattle Murder Suspect: God Told Me To Rape And Murder Those Lesbians

A Seattle man on trial for the 2009 rape and fatal stabbing of a lesbian couple told the court that God had instructed him to commit the crime.

"I was there and I was told by my God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to attack my enemies, and I did so," Isaiah Kalebu said under questioning by one of his lawyers. The trial started three weeks ago, but the testimony was the first time jurors had seen Kalebu, who was previously so disruptive in court that the judge barred him from attending. He watched the trial via closed circuit television from another courtroom before indicating he wanted to exercise his constitutional right to testify in his own defense [snip] Kalebu is accused of slipping in an open window of the couple's home in Seattle's South Park neighborhood and repeatedly raping and stabbing them during a two-hour attack. One woman, Teresa Butz, died naked and blood-soaked in the street in front of her home as neighbors tried to help. Her partner survived and told the jury that Kalebu was the man who did it.

Kalebu was convicted of all charges (including first degree murder) and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

RELATED: The woman who died of her injuries was the sister of multiple Tony Award winning Broadway actor Norbert Leo Butz, who last month won for his lead role in Catch Me If You Can.

Sister Of Tony Winner Norbert Leo Butz Killed In Possible Hate Crime

The lesbian sister of Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz (left) was stabbed to death in her Seattle-area home on Sunday. Police are investigating the murder as a possible hate crime.

Teresa Butz, 39, was stabbed along with her partner, a 36-year-old woman who was released Monday from Harborview Medical Center. The attacker, who entered through an open window, remains at large. The couple "were just about to get married," said neighbor Christine Cherif. Seattle police through most of Monday continued to call the attack random, but officials Monday night said it's too early to rule out a hate crime and that the sexual-minority task force has taken an interest in the case. Interim Police Chief John Diaz said the 3 a.m. attack at the house in the 700 block of South Rose Street was the most brutal crime he and his officers have seen in some time and vowed to put every available resource into catching the man.

Norbert Butz, who won the 2006 Tony for Best Actor in a Musical, was in Seattle at the time of the murder, rehearsing the Broadway-bound musical version of Catch Me If You Can. The opening of the show has been postponed.