Paul Connolly, a known criminal, was Paradise stabbing victim, sources say

A man who is very well known to police and the justice system, Paul Connolly, has been confirmed through sources as the victim of a vicious attack on Trails End Drive in Paradise early Saturday morning.

Police have not confirmed his identity, but people close to Connolly say the 35-year-old is the man investigators say was found unconscious with multiple stab wounds just after 5 a.m. Saturday morning.

"He's doing good. He's getting better," said a source close to the situation.

What remains unclear, however, is whether the attack is related to the brutal abduction and murder of 25-year-old Steven Lorne Miller in Conception Bay Southaround the same timeframe.

• Steven Miller homicide: RNC confirm seizure of red Civic, but mum on details

RNC investigators have not ruled that out.

Connolly is no stranger to the media spotlight, a courtroom or a prison cell at Her Majesty's Penitentiary.

He was the first person to be charged following a graphic prison riot at HMP in February 2014.

Surveillance video of the riot shows Connolly using a pew to attack an accused murderer in the chapel during the riot.