Woman charged with fatal stabbing of boyfriend

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A 52-year-old McKeesport woman is charged with stabbing her boyfriend to death inside a South Side apartment Tuesday after a night of beer drinking.

Daryl Waite, 49, of McKeesport was stabbed in the chest and abdomen and died at UPMC Mercy at 11:41 p.m., according to a criminal complaint. His girlfriend, Cassandra Locke, was charged Wednesday with homicide.

Mr. Waite and Ms. Locke were visiting her cousin in the Brew House Loft Apartments in the 700 block of South 21st Street and began sharing a case of beer about 6 p.m., the cousin told police.

The cousin, who was not identified in court records, said Ms. Locke began to pick a fight with Mr. Waite about 10:45 p.m. The cousin said the pair often fought when drinking.

Ms. Locke began to tussle with Mr. Waite, the cousin told police. She then saw Mr. Waite open her front door and run into the hallway, leaving a trail of blood. The witness said she went to Ms. Locke and asked, “What did you do?”

Ms. Locke responded that she was “sick of him,” then put on her shoes and coat and left, according to a police affidavit.

Mr. Waite collapsed in the main lobby of the apartment building, leaving a trail of blood from the apartment to the elevator to the lobby. A bystander called 911.

The cousin told police she feared she would be evicted when she heard approaching sirens, so she used a spray cleaner to try to wipe up the blood in her apartment. The cousin said she did not mean to destroy evidence, according to the affidavit.

Video surveillance footage from the apartment building showed Ms. Locke carrying a knife “in the presence of the victim” in a hallway, the affidavit said.

She was being held without bond in the Allegheny County Jail pending a preliminary hearing in City Court on Nov. 15.