Woman Charged After 23-year-old Man Fatally Stabbed in Saint Paul
Police at the scene of a fatal stabbing Friday night near Seventh St. E. & White Bear Ave. in Saint Paul. PHOTO BY MN CRIME
The Ramsey County Attorney's Office has charged a 22-year-old woman in the Saint Paul stabbing death of Eric T. Brown on Friday night. Kayla Janea Pope faces a charge of second-degree murder without intent and faces up to 40 years in prison.
According to the criminal complaint, officers arrived at the intersection of Seventh St. E & White Bear Ave. shortly after 9 p.m. and found Brown with a stab wound near his left shoulder blade. He was unconscious and had no pulse after collapsing on the sidewalk. Officers began CPR and paramedics transported Brown, 23, of Minneapolis, to Regions Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Officers responding to the scene saw Pope running from the area, appearing to hide something in a bush after she fled, court documents allege. Pope was brought back to the scene and had blood on her shirt, telling officers that an unknown male stabbed Brown in a drug deal gone wrong. Police reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby business that showed Pope sprinting after Brown before colliding in the intersection. Pope went after Brown again, and this time, Brown appeared injured and collapsed shortly after onto the sidewalk, according to court documents.
Police were called to Pope's and Brown's apartment earlier in the evening for a man and woman reportedly fighting. Pope denied the fight and said she was upset and crying about missing the lottery.
While officers detained Pope, she told officers that she left her one-year-old child unattended in their apartment and that a neighbor was watching them. Police went to check on the child and found unsafe living conditions, the court documents said. Pope was held at the Ramsey County Jail on child endangerment charges and while in jail, she called investigators, saying she didn't have anything to do with Brown's death but knew where the murder weapon was. Pope then led investigators to the knife that was used in the stabbing, the documents say.
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When questioned further, Pope said she was in an abusive relationship with Brown, that he got violent when withdrawing from drugs, the complaint said, and that Brown had assaulted her in the past. Pope said that Brown was withdrawing from drugs on the night of the stabbing and threw a toy at her, causing a bruise to her head. Pope called police to report the domestic incident and Brown left the apartment with the child. When squads arrived, Pope denied any assault had taken place and officers left. Brown returned to the apartment with the child and accused Pope of speaking to the police, the complaint states, with Brown allegedly beginning to assault her again, this time holding a knife to her throat. Brown then fled the apartment after the alleged assault.
Pope said in the charging documents that she was tired of being assaulted and feared that Brown would take or injure their child in the future. Pope said she grabbed a steak knife and chased after Brown, who had a backpack on. Pope said she tried to stab the backpack, but Brown turned and the knife went into his back in the process.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner concluded Brown's cause of death was from a stab wound that perforated a pulmonary artery. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Pope made her first court appearance Monday and bail was set at $750,000 without conditions.
