The naked blood-covered man stopped, looked in the direction of the young officer, and ran toward him, holding a blood-soaked butcher’s knife. He was coming to kill the cop. The officer screamed for him to stop and drop the knife. Some people just don’t listen.
The officer fired three shots, dropping the guy in his tracks.
As the rookie was relating this story to the sergeant (before my arrival), the stabber – apparently inspired by Freddie Kruger – jumped to his feet, raised his arms into the air, and shrieked that he was going to kill the cops. The rookie and the sergeant fired two shots apiece into him. The man stopped, staggered back into the bedroom, and fell on top of the blood-soaked woman.
I’d never seen a crime scene like this. There was blood everywhere, and I could see at least two broken blades in the woman’s chest. The killer had at least one knife blade embedded in his back. As it turned out, this was a case of unrequited love. The woman had just told her boyfriend she was breaking off their relationship.
When Homicide arrived, I was standing outside when an old friend from the 12th District approached me.
“What’s up, Lieutenant?” said Billy. “What’s going on here?”
I gave Billy a quick summary, and pointed to the house. He looked at the house, and told me that his wife lived there. I asked for her first name. When he told me, I knew it was his wife who’d been murdered. I walked him away from the crowd that had gathered, and told him his wife had been stabbed. Before I could say anything more, he asked if she was all right.
“No, she didn’t survive.”
He began to cry, and asked who had killed her. I told him about the circumstances, and gave him the name of the killer. He and his wife had been separated, but were getting back together. She was going to tell the boyfriend that their relationship was over.
“I guess she told him.”
That’s all I could say.