Chicago Woman Charged With First-Degree Murder For Stabbing Boyfriend To Death After He Pulled Her Hair During An Argument
Vanessa Sanders, 38, of Chicago, Illinois, was charged with first-degree murder for stabbing her on-again, off-again boyfriend Antone Sims, 28, to death. Sims, of Oswego, was stabbed at a West Pullman apartment after he pulled Sanders’ hair during a heated argument, reported the Chicago Tribune. At approximately 11:10 p.m. on Saturday, Sims arrived at Sanders’ apartment but not long after, he left to go to someone else’s apartment on the first-floor to do their hair.
Apparently, Sanders wasn’t too thrilled about his departure as she followed him inside of the apartment where the pair got into a heated argument that turned physical when Sims pulled her hair. An unidentified adult who was at the scene had to separate the pair, but Sanders was still filled with anger. According to a video that captured the fight, Sanders, who is married to another man was heard saying, “He pulled my (expletive) hair! I swear to God I’ll kill the (expletive)! I swear for all living God I’m killing that (expletive).”
Prosecutors allege Vanessa Sanders fatally stabbed Antone Sims because he pulled her hair. https://t.co/Q83tcPSK7K pic.twitter.com/zGz8OYWLXL
— Chicago Homicide (@ChicagoHomicide) December 2, 2015
It is unclear what the couple were arguing about, but it was reported that six children were inside of the apartment during the time the couple got into an altercation. However, sources say neither of the children were in the room to witness the attack.
According to Chicago Sun-Times, Sims walked over to his irate girlfriend and asked her for a kiss and to take a walk with him in hopes of pacifying the situation. When she refused, he turned around to walk away but he tripped and fell. Once he was on the floor with his back to the wall, Sanders stood over of him with a kitchen knife and began to yell at him before she was seen jabbing the knife into her boyfriend’s chest.
Sims saw the knife coming and tried to use his arm to protect himself from being stabbed, but it was to no avail. Sanders continued to stab and cut her boyfriend with a knife until he slumped over and was having difficulty breathing — that’s when she ran out of the apartment. Witnesses at the scene immediately called Chicago police and performed CPR on the victim as they waited for paramedics to arrive.
When police arrived at the scene at 11500 block of South Perry, witnesses said Sanders fled the scene after stabbing her boyfriend to death with one of their kitchen knives. Police searched diligently for the murder weapon but it appears that Sanders had taken the knife when she left the scene. Sims was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where doctors tried desperately to save his life but he was pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m. on Sunday.
Soon after Sims’ death, an autopsy was performed, and the medical examiner stated that the results indicated that the victim sustained injuries on his hand and scalp that was “consistent with his trying to defend himself.” The day after the knife attack, Vanessa Sanders turned herself into he police where she was charged with first-degree murder for stabbing her boyfriend to death.
On Wednesday, Sanders made her second court appearance at Cook County Bond Court, standing before Judge Laura Sullivan, where her attorney, Nir Basse, claimed that Sanders acted in self-defense. Basse stated that before Sanders stabbed her boyfriend to death in a violent rage, he had abused her — punching and dragging Sanders out of a car. According to her attorney, Sanders had the bruises on her face and knees to prove that the attack took place.
However, despite her attorney’s claims, Judge Sullivan ordered Sanders to be held at the county jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
This is a developing story.
[Image via Shutterstock]
