Suspect in stabbing, rape denied bail

AYER, Mass. — A Massachusetts man charged with stabbing his brother, raping a woman, kidnapping them both, and fleeing with them to southern Ohio was ordered held without bail at his arraignment Thursday.

Keven Blakemore, 21, did not speak at the arraignment. He previously has said he was under the influence of drugs and does not remember what happened.

A judge in Ayer District Court entered not guilty pleas on his behalf to charges including attempted murder, aggravated rape and kidnapping pending a hearing to determine whether he is a danger to society. The hearing was scheduled for Sept. 11.

His court-appointed attorney asked that the alleged victims in the case be named as witnesses, which would mean they could testify publicly at the hearing, but prosecutors objected to the request and a judge denied it.

Police say Blakemore stabbed his adoptive brother, Ken Herbison, at their Boxborough apartment Aug. 21, and then raped a woman in the apartment. He allegedly drove both to Pike County, where he once lived.

Herbison went to a hospital and said he had been in an ATV accident, Sheriff Charles Reader said. X-rays showed he had been stabbed; authorities found the woman at an Ohio residence; and Blakemore was taken into custody Aug. 22.

Blakemore was charged in Ohio with trying to steal a deputy sheriff’s vehicle and escape; bond in that case was set at $91,500.