Soul debt ends in stabbing

A Carson City man is recovering today after being stabbed five times when he came to the defense of a woman who bet her soul in a pool game, an investigator said.

Carson City Sheriff's Detective Dave Legros said Russell Woodworth, 35, suffered stab wounds to the chest, arm pit and rib cage following the midnight tussle at Katie's Bar in the 3800 block of Highway 50 East.

Pool-game winner Jeffrey Valea Cordova, 27, of Carson City, was booked into the Carson City Jail at 12:22 a.m. Tuesday on suspicion of felony battery with a deadly weapon.

According to the arrest report, Cordova and a woman by the name of Maggie were playing pool when the two signed an agreement in which "the winner of the game would take the soul of loser."

The report states that after Maggie lost the game she became concerned when Cordova talked of collecting on the debt.

"Maggie lost the game and Jeffrey kept harassing Maggie about giving her soul to him," according to the report. "Maggie started to become scared due to Jeffrey continuously asking for her soul."

A witness told police Maggie then called friends to pick her up and Woodworth was among those friends.

Once inside the bar, Woodworth allegedly "confronted Jeffrey about the signed soul agreement," and a fight between the two men broke out.

During the fighting, Cordova allegedly pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed Woodworth, then fled the scene.

Woodworth was taken by helicopter to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno where he was treated and released, Legros said.

Witnesses to the fight gave police Cordova's license plate number and he was found, allegedly wearing bloody clothing, on Tenth Street. Cordova refused to speak with officers and was arrested without incident.

Police were unable to recover the knife or the signed soul agreement.

"This is the first case I've ever worked on that has had this kind of agreement," said Legros. "I found it very peculiar."

Cordova is being held on $30,000 bail.

• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.