PORT ARTHUR, Texas — A 23-year-old woman has been charged with murder after investigators say she stabbed her 24-year-old boyfriend in the chest.
Police were called around 7 a.m. on Saturday, October 12, 2019, to the 4200 block of Jimmy Johnson Boulevard in Port Arthur.
Officers found the victim, Gerald Taylor, who was pronounced dead near Pebble Creek Apartments.
Medical personnel found a stab wound near the left side of Taylor’s chest.
Amesty Smith and Taylor were living together at the apartment complex, court records show. A witness told police there may have been events leading up to the stabbing.
The witness, who also lives in the complex, told police he or she was awakened at 6 a.m. by an "intense argument" between Smith and Taylor.
Around 6:40 a.m., the couple had seemingly left the apartment in good health, according to the witness.
Security footage from the apartment complex showed Smith driving around the complex at approximately 6:46 a.m. The video later showed the car coming to a stop while still inside the apartment complex.
The car was stopped for approximately eight minutes, and then it moved forward to the front gate of the apartments, according to a police report.
The video also showed the trunk partially opened and what appeared to be Taylor’s leg hanging out of it, investigators said.
Around 6:55 a.m., the car approached the gate and was no longer visible on camera, but police said they could still see Taylor leaving the car.
A witness told police that she saw Taylor fall out of the trunk of an older-looking brown or tan Ford Taurus. The witness said he stumbled next to the sidewalk, and soon after, he collapsed.
The witness said the driver was a young woman, later identified as Smith.
Smith admitted that she and Taylor had left the apartment together. She told police they got into an argument, and he assaulted her while inside of the car.
Smith had scratches on the right side of her face and blood on her shirt, court records show.
Smith claimed that Taylor left the car while the two were still in the complex. But security footage showed that he got out of the car near the front gate, which is where he died.
The Ford Taurus was later located in the 4100 block of 39th Street in Port Arthur inside of a garage.
Smith denies causing any injuries to Taylor, but due to evidence and witnesses, she was arrested and taken to the Jefferson County correctional facility.
Smith faces a first-degree felony charge of murder.
