JASPER, Texas — Jasper Police have arrested a 53-year-old man who they say fatally stabbed his longtime girlfriend outside a Jasper motel Wednesday evening.
Officers were called to the Rodeway Inn along U.S. Highway 190 near U.S. Highway 96 at about 7 p.m. by a man who said he needed help but refused to say why he needed help or to identify himself according to Jasper Police.
When officers arrived they found a man covered in blood standing near a walkway on the west side of the motel according to a Jasper Police news release.
The man put his hands up and then voluntarily turned around and put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed, police said.
The man told officers the blood was not his and directed them a 2019 Chrysler 300 in the parking lot of the motel.
Officers found the body of Judy McKinney Arnold, 61, sitting behind the wheel of a car in the motel’s parking lot, police said.
She appeared to have multiple stab wounds and when medics arrived they determined that she was non-responsive.
Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Jimmy Miller later arrived on the scene and pronounced Arnold dead.
The suspect, whose name has not yet been released and McKinney have been dating for 21 years, according to police.
Police say the McKinney, who was pronounced dead at the scene, appeared to have been stabbed multiple times.
The suspect is in custody pending arraignment and an autopsy has been ordered, according to police.
On 9/11/19 the Jasper Police Department received a 911 call from a male individual advising the dispatcher that officers were needed at the Roadway Inn motel. The caller would not provide any information as to why he needed officers or his identity.
Officers arrived at the Roadway Inn to find a 53-year-old black male suspect covered in blood standing in the breezeway on the west side of the motel. The suspect put his hands up and turned around for officers voluntarily and placed his hands behind his back. The suspect told officers that the blood was not his. The suspect advised officers that the blood was from a female who was sitting in the driver’s seat of a 2019 Chrysler 300. Officers found the victim, later identified as 61-year-old Judy McKinney Arnold, in the driver seat with what appeared to be stab wounds to the upper portion of her body. Emergency Medical Technicians arrived at the scene shortly thereafter and the victim was non-responsive. Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Jimmy Miller pronounced Arnold deceased at the scene.
The victim and suspect had been in a dating relationship for approximately 21 years but when asked the suspect would not give any details of the incident or to the motive.
An autopsy was ordered and will be performed by the Jefferson County Medical Examiners office. The name of the suspect has not been released at this time pending formal charges and arraignment.