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King County prosecutors say a 23-year-old Des Moines woman claimed she fatally stabbed her boyfriend Saturday in self-defense, but there was no evidence she feared for her life and she later joked with detectives about the enjoyment she got from stoking her boyfriend's anger.
Hadiya Collins was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder domestic violence, accused of plunging a knife into Jamarius McTear's chest, severing his aortic artery, inside her apartment in the 21800 block of Pacific Highway South, court records show. Arrested Saturday, Collins remains in custody in the King County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail, according to jail records.
"Despite the defendant's purported claim that she was acting in self-defense, her own actions during the event, her behavior following her crime, and the Medical Examiner's findings do not support her claims," Deputy Prosecutor Jocelyn Curtain wrote in charging documents, noting Collins also claimed she could not remember stabbing McTear. "The defendant herself admitted she was not fearful he would kill or cause her substantial bodily harm during the altercation. In fact, the defendant giggled and joked with detectives as she explained she enjoyed provoking the victim's anger."
Collins didn't express any remorse for her actions or concern for McTear's well being, Curtain wrote. Though Collins doesn't have prior criminal convictions, Curtain wrote that Collins reportedly makes $20,000 a month producing online videos and travels frequently for work, making her a flight risk. Curtain requested that Collins be ordered not to leave the state and to surrender her passport if she's released from jail.
According to the charges:
Collins called 911 just after 6 p.m. Saturday and reported that her boyfriend had been stabbed. When the dispatcher asked who stabbed him, Collins said, "I did," charging papers say.
When the first officer arrived, he found Collins outside her apartment building covered in blood and wearing only a blanket. She directed him to her second-floor apartment, where the officer found McTear, 27, naked on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. He had two stab wounds to his chest, and a broken knife blade was stuck in one of the wounds.
Medics arrived a couple of minutes later, and McTear was pronounced dead at the scene.
Des Moines police detectives later learned Collins and McTear started dating in December and moved in together in February; McTear recently moved out and had an on-again, off-again relationship with Collins, the charges say.
About an hour before McTear died, Collins and a friend drove to Seattle to get some food and Collins decided to pick McTear up from his workplace. Though McTear initially didn't want to get in the car, Collins persuaded him to return with her to her apartment. On the way, Collins annoyed McTear by singing and trying to kiss him, and the two argued about a Taser that Collins had recently purchased, the charges say.
When they arrived at her apartment complex, video-surveillance footage showed the two continued arguing. At one point, it appeared McTear had turned to leave, but Collins grabbed him and pulled him inside, according to the charges.
McTear announced he was going to take a shower, and Collins insisted on joining him, but then repeatedly shut off the water, which angered McTear. Police say Collins also grabbed McTear's backpack "because he does not like it when she touches his things," the charges say.
At some point, Collins and McTear moved into the kitchen, where Collins grabbed a knife out of the dishwasher. Though police say Collins claimed McTear struck her in the head with a garbage can, detectives noted Collins had no obvious injuries.
An autopsy showed McTear had been stabbed in the back and chest, but the fatal wound was to his upper chest and had perforated his aortic artery, the charges say.
