Man charged with three felonies in machete attack

Monday, February 1, 2021
Stephen Taplin

A Friday assault with a machete in Fillmore was not a random act.

Court records filed Monday revealed that a confrontation between 39-year-old Stephen Taplin, the accused attacker, and 50-year-old Matthew Kuchler, his alleged victim, had been brewing for several days.

Taplin, who is either from Colorado Springs, Colo., or Melbourne, Fla., was formally charged with three felonies in the case — Level 3 felony aggravated battery posing a substantial risk of death, Level 3 felony aggravated battery causing serious permanent disfigurement and Level 6 felony criminal recklessness.

Though court record indicate no life-threatening injuries to Kuchler, the “serious permanent disfigurement” springs from the nature of the attack, as Taplin is alleged to have struck Kuchler first in the knee with the “blade” side of the machete before slashing at his right cheek with the “hook” side of the weapon.

While interviewing Kuchler at Methodist Hospital, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Detective Lt. Don Pettit observed a 4-to-5-inch gash across the man’s right cheek.

While the two men and one additional witness give slightly differing accounts of the incident, it seems that Taplin had been living in his van in the driveway of a Fillmore woman for nearly two weeks leading up to the Jan. 29 incident.

The woman told police that Taplin had been a friend of her brother’s, as both had been homeless, staying on the Colorado River near Colorado Springs.

Exactly what brought Taplin to Indiana wasn’t clear, but he had remained in Fillmore when he apparently ran out of money and gas.

Afterward, tensions began to brew between Taplin and Kuchler, who is either the woman’s boyfriend or ex-boyfriend.

Both men felt threatened by the other, with Kuchler repeatedly telling Taplin to leave and Taplin saying he feared for his life.

Each man seemed uncomfortable with the other’s proximity to the woman.

“The guy just wasn’t leaving me alone,” Taplin said in court. “I didn’t feel like I could leave my friend’s crying sister alone with the way he was treating her.”

Meanwhile, Kuchler told investigators that Taplin said, “I’m not going to (expletive) leave.”

Both men told Pettit they feared for their lives.

Kuchler admitted to having thrown a drywall hammer — which is a hammer on one side and a hatchet on the other — at Taplin the morning of the incident.

The two men soon came to blows, after which Taplin allegedly drew his machete and struck Kuchler.

Though he felt he was defending himself, Taplin told Pettit he had intended to do.

“To eliminate the threat,” Taplin said, “I meant to hook his face.”

After the incident, Kuchler fled to his home, while Taplin headed north on Main Street in Fillmore.

The woman, meanwhile, notified police.

That was when a hunt for Taplin and his Toyota minivan ensued, though police did not locate him until a traffic stop after 2 a.m. on Saturday. He was taken into custody without incident and booked in the Putnam County Jail at 3:14 a.m.

Appearing before Putnam Circuit Court Judge Matt Headley by videoconference, Taplin learned more of the nature of his charges.

Headley explained that a Level 3 felony is punishable by a sentence of between three and 16 years with an advisory sentence of nine years.

The judge also explained that if found guilty of both aggravated assault charges, they would not be separate sentences.

“If you’d happen to be convicted of both of those, I’m sure you’d have one of those merged into the other,” Headley said.

Deputy Prosecutor Austin Malayer confirmed this.

A Level 6 felony is punishable a by sentence between six months and 2.5 years, with an advisory of one year.

Headley went on to enter a not-guilty plea on Taplin’s behalf as well as assigning public defender Todd Meyer to the case.

In requesting that bond be set at $30,000, Malayer told the judge one factor was being unsure where to find Taplin should he get out on bail.

The defendant said he would be living with friends in Melbourne, but the judge granted the prosecution request.

“Given the level of the offense and being unsure of where he’s living, we’re requesting the bond schedule, which is $30,000,” Headley said.

The judge set a pre-trial conference date of April 8 at 9:30 a.m.

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  • Hope they put him away for a long time.

    -- Posted by Queen53 on Tue, Feb 2, 2021, at 9:38 AM
  • *

    So why wasn't Matthew Kuchler arrested for assault?

    By his own admission he threw a dry wall hammer at Mr Taplin...

    And Kuchler started the incident by first throwing the dry wall hammer.

    That makes him the instigator, and gives Mr Taplin a very sound case for self defense.

    Is this what constitutes justice in Putnam County?

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Tue, Feb 2, 2021, at 11:28 AM
  • He wasnt here 2 weeks he wasnt protecting me

    -- Posted by virgokathi918 on Tue, Feb 2, 2021, at 12:08 PM
  • Taplin is not telling the truth I'm the alleged crying sister

    -- Posted by virgokathi918 on Tue, Feb 2, 2021, at 12:16 PM
  • Matthew probably saved my life

    -- Posted by virgokathi918 on Tue, Feb 2, 2021, at 12:17 PM
  • DPR, self defense, instigator.... for the lawyers to hash out. Charge the maximum and then wiggle room for plea deals.

    -- Posted by kbmom on Tue, Feb 2, 2021, at 2:05 PM
  • virgokathie918,

    I would encourage you to consider legal advice before speaking again regarding the matter in a public forum. I say this so you don't accidently say something that will negate options later from a legal perspective.

    Sorry for what you have gone thru.

    -- Posted by beg on Tue, Feb 2, 2021, at 4:26 PM
  • Interesting article written by someone destined to become an accomplished author of mystery novels. The article was layered in questions that leave the reader wondering and looking forward to chapter two.

    -- Posted by Prince of Stardust Hills on Tue, Feb 2, 2021, at 8:36 PM
  • *

    VirgoKathi - If you are indeed the woman in the middle of this, you bear some responsibility for the situation according to your own words and the information presented in the article.

    If you didn't want this guy at your house, why didn't you simply call the cops and have him removed before it came to violence?

    You say he wasn't there two weeks. How long was he there? Probably long enough to have the PCSD remove him, as he was certainly there long enough to be attacked by your friend.

    KBMom - please don't ever sit on a jury. You are a prosecutors delight, a defense attorneys PITA, and a civic nightmare.

    I noticed in your rush to charge the maximum and accept a plea you kind of neglected the idea of innocent until proven guilty.

    But I guess you read the article and have already made up your mind - guilty as reported.

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Tue, Feb 2, 2021, at 11:19 PM
  • Actually was there 4 days but he was the aggressor. ID asked him Thursday evening to leave he said he'd be gone Friday morning! I accept my part in this! I didnt invite him here or to stay and there was no reason to call police yet. But the morning of the incident i asked him to leave again and he went outside with the machete and charged at matt! I locked my door behind him woke my son up and called 911! He showed up here the 24th at 11pm claiming to have brought a friend home to Indiana. I am guilty of offering him a hot meal buy never invited him or even knew he was coming here till the day he showed up at my door

    -- Posted by virgokathi918 on Wed, Feb 3, 2021, at 1:47 AM
  • Well, if there is any lesson to be learned from the article, it might be this; don't throw a hatchet at an angry man armed with a machete!

    -- Posted by Prince of Stardust Hills on Wed, Feb 3, 2021, at 9:58 AM
  • virgokathi - so from your own account, this guy charged at your boyfriend for literally no reason at all? He was not instigated, he just felt like charging at him because you told him to leave? Something doesn't add up.

    -- Posted by momof2ingreencastle on Wed, Feb 3, 2021, at 12:57 PM
  • virgokathi

    based on the above, again i encourage you not to respond.

    Banner, you need to consider using some judgement here. This is a legal issue.

    Far more important than the number of "hits" you will get.

    -- Posted by beg on Wed, Feb 3, 2021, at 1:38 PM
  • DPR, Amazing you got all that insight on me when I stated what could transpire in criminal proceedings. I wasn’t making a personal statement to charge him with the maximum, but rather an observation of how the justice system can operate. I won’t apologize for having knowledge about court proceedings but I will apologize for being vague and not making my previous comment clearer to a layman.

    You have absolutely no idea about me.

    -- Posted by kbmom on Wed, Feb 3, 2021, at 10:28 PM
  • *

    kbmom - You are correct, I have no idea about you, other than what I can glean from your post.

    And as it was a bit vague, I took it to mean that you supported the idea.

    My apologies for making such an assumption. I should've asked for clarification.

    LOL. I am not nearly as much of a layman as you may think. I know quite a bit about how courts operate. I will not do it the favor of dignifying it with calling it "the justice system" b/c it is certainly not just.

    Overcharging is a despicable practice carried on by prosecutors who are more focused on conviction rates and wringing money out of people through court costs, probationary fees, etc. than actually pursuing justice.

    -- Posted by dreadpirateroberts on Thu, Feb 4, 2021, at 12:04 PM
  • *

    Gosh darn it. I agree with DPR and it makes me feel weird and dirty. :)

    -- Posted by RSOTS on Thu, Feb 4, 2021, at 10:05 PM
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