A Pennsylvania woman was fatally stabbed by her ex-boyfriend in front of a police officer who was responding to a call about a break-in at her home, authorities announced Monday.
Jaden Battista, 19, was running away from Trevor Weigel, 23, outside her Yardley home when he tackled her to the ground and stabbed her repeatedly in the chest and neck, Bucks County District Attorney Jen Schorn said in a press release.
When the officer approached, Weigel fled, stabbing himself in the neck while running, detectives said in a probable cause affidavit.
While the officer provided first aid to Battista, another officer who had just arrived chased after Weigel. He caught up with him nearby, using a Taser before detaining him, authorities said.
Battista was stabbed “approximately 15 times” in her neck and chest, penetrating her carotid artery and aorta, Lower Makefield Township Police Chief Kenneth D. Coluzzi said at a news conference Monday.
Weigel was arraigned Sunday and charged with criminal homicide, burglary, possession of an instrument of crime, and disorderly conduct and harassment, Schorn said. He was denied bail.
Battista was on a FaceTime call with a friend when Weigel tried to break into her house at around 2:15 p.m. Friday, authorities said.
Battista told her friend that Weigel was banging on the front door demanding to be let in before entering through a first-floor window, said Schorn, who referred to the friend at Monday’s news conference as an “ear witness.”
“The friend heard a commotion, followed by a thump, and then Battista’s voice became muffled as if someone was holding their hand over her mouth to prevent her from speaking,” the district attorney’s press release states, before the call ended. Police were responding to the friend’s 911 call when the attack took place. How Battista ended up outside is still being investigated, Schorn told reporters Monday.
The former couple had only dated for a few months, Schorn said, and had broken up two months before the attack.
According to investigators, Weigel told them he “lost it” because he found out Battista was cheating on him.
Weigel was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery for his injuries. He was released from the hospital Tuesday and is currently behind held in the Bucks County Correctional Facility, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office told 360aproko.
It is unclear whether Weigel has retained an attorney.
