NORWICH – A Sherburne man who was stabbed twice in the chest Saturday has been released from Chenango Memorial Hospital and is recovering from exploratory surgery.

At about 7 a.m. Dec. 20, Jacob A. Wilkes, 24, of Sherburne, drove himself to the city police station with two stab wounds – one just below his sternum and the other to his upper left rib cage. Wilkes told police he had been attacked at an apartment at 16 Sheldon St. in the City of Norwich less than an hour earlier.

In a phone interview with The Evening Sun Tuesday, Wilkes said he was stabbed with an 8-inch kitchen steak knife that damaged his liver following a confrontation with another man in the apartment’s stairwell.

He claimed he was attempting to visit the resident of the home, a woman he said he had a lengthy personal relationship with, while on his way to Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton, where he works in the nursing unit.

Wilkes claimed he was let in by the woman, who unlocked the apartment’s door. He then said he was confronted by an armed male occupant inside and a fight ensued.

Police said the three occupants at the apartment told a different story, claiming Wilkes was the aggressor and saying he arrived uninvited and forced his way into the apartment.