Police have made an arrest in connection with the stabbing death of a 24-year-old man in North Tampa, Florida. According to ABC Action News , officers discovered Justin Lee Tyler Williams lying on the living room floor of his home in the 1200 block of E. Chilkoot Avenue at around 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Paramedics transported Williams to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. Shortly after his arrival, the victim was pronounced dead.
An arrest affidavit indicated that officers arrested the victim’s girlfriend, Johnetta D. Shephard, 24, just hours after the incident. Officials say she made incriminating statements during the interview process.
Shephard was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on charges of second-degree murder.
While in police custody, the suspect admitted to authorities that she fatally stabbed her boyfriend in front of their home.
It was reported that Shephard told investigators that she heard Williams speaking to another woman on the phone as he was sitting on the front porch of their home. She went on to say that he denied talking to another woman and started to laugh at her; that’s when she reportedly went inside and grabbed a knife from the kitchen.
When she returned, police say she raised the knife with her left hand over her shoulder and stabbed Williams in the center of his chest. It is not clear if there were any words exchanged before or during the stabbing, but Shephard stated that she initially thought she was stabbing her boyfriend in the shoulder.
Afterward, Shephard told investigators that she went inside the home and placed the knife on the couch and grabbed the couple’s 4-month-old daughter before police officials arrived at the scene.
Deputies did not disclose if Shephard called 911 after the alleged deadly stabbing of her live-in boyfriend.
People who knew the Tampa couple were stunned after learning of Williams’ death. Several turned to social media to say that the couple argued and fought excessively, but they say she went too far when she took a knife and purportedly stabbed him to death.
Police stated that it may be too early to determine, but the Tampa stabbing does not appear to be related to any other criminal investigations in the area, Tampa Bay reports.
No further details have been released in the case, but detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting an investigation into Williams’ death.
[Featured Image by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office]
