Man charged with murdering nurse practitioner also attacked Duke medical worker in 2019, court documents show
The man charged with killing a mental health nurse practitioner earlier this week in Durham has a history of violence against health care workers, WRAL News has learned.
James Gomes, 47, is facing a first-degree murder charge in the fatal stabbing of June Onkundi, who died while working on the job.
Gomes had been out of prison for four months when the murder happened. Onkundi was stabbed to death Tuesday while at work at the Freedom House Recovery Center in north Durham. Onkundi’s family told WRAL News that Gomes was her patient.
In a call to 911, a person described a violent man saying, "There’s a client that’s out of control … yelling and screaming … this is a mental health facility … I need somebody now."
Another caller reported hearing screams and seeing a knife.
On Friday, WRAL News went to the clerk’s office to pull the court file from Gomes’ previous cause of assaulting a female. WRAL News learned that woman was also a medical worker trying to help Gomes.
Court documents show Gomes has a history of assaulting medical professionals.
Gomes also has a history of assaulting women, including in 2005 when he was a janitor at Merrick-Moore Elementary School in Durham.
In March 2019, Gomes attacked a clinical social worker at a Duke Health facility. In the court file, WRAL News found a letter the victim in that case wrote to the court, warning of how dangerous she believed Gomes was. It reads in part, “I was thrown to the ground, punched in the nose and face, and strangled until I was blue almost blacking out. Had staff not been able to get to me in time, I may not be alive today … I would ask the court to ensure that Mr. Gomes is imprisoned for the maximum time allowed.”
According to court records, Gomes was not. The maximum sentence means Gomes would have had a release date sometime next month.
On Friday, WRAL News spoke with the 2019 victim, who did not want to be named.
"It doesn't surprise me at all," the worker said of Gomes' arrest and murder charge. "It's sad."
The woman explained how the 2019 attack impacted her.
“I worked really hard to go forward with my life after the assault," she said. "I was very lucky to have had good family and social support.
"I had access to the services I needed. I only have a couple minor physical issues from time to time, but nothing serious.”
The woman admitted there aren't easy answers to better protect mental health workers to prevent incidents like what happened to Onkundi.
"It’s going to depend on the type of patient, the experience, the qualifications of the mental health worker," she said. "It’s going to depend on the physical environment where people are being seen, whatever safeguards may or may not be in place, the history of the patient.
"He had never been to our clinic. The day he came was the first day he was at our clinic, ever. So, we had no information."
Gomes remains in jail in Durham with no bond . His next court date is set for Nov. 9.
