Killing

noted a superficial knife wound to the left side of the victim’s face, detectives alleged.

A neighbor, according to court papers, called 911 at 2:12 a.m. after he heard a male and female arguing outside.

“(The neighbor) described the argument as sounding ‘heated’ so he looked out his window and observed a male and female in the parking lot,” detectives alleged, adding the neighbor went to another window to get a better look. “When (the neighbor) looked out this window he saw a person lying on the ground.”

The neighbor went outside and saw the victim lying on the ground and observed “blood and fleshy meat” in the victim’s upper chest, above his nipple, according to the arrest affidavit.

“(The neighbor) stated the victim did not speak and had labored breathing,” Crescitelli and Klinger alleged in the criminal complaint.

Detectives also interviewed a close friend of Dewalt who stated he went to the apartment shared by the victim and Jackson to retrieve a phone charger that he had lent to Dewalt. The friend told detectives that when he looked through a window of the apartment he observed Jackson punch Dewalt, who fell to the floor, according to the criminal complaint.

Dewalt and his friend then went outside to Dewalt’s car so Dewalt could retrieve the friend’s phone charger and Jackson, “holding a large knife in her right hand,” followed the men to the parking lot, detectives alleged. Jackson was yelling at Dewalt, claiming Dewalt owed her money and that Dewalt peeked at her while she was naked in a bathroom, according to the arrest affidavit.

“He wanna (sic) peek at me he gotta (sic) pay me,” Jackson allegedly shouted, according to court documents.

The witness told detectives Jackson began to stab and poke at Dewalt with the knife and also tried to slash Dewalt’s neck but was unsuccessful, court documents alleged. Jackson walked to Dewalt’s vehicle and tried to stab the tires but the knife bent, and then she proceeded to rip the side mirrors off of the vehicle, detectives alleged.

The witness heard Dewalt say, “Stop with the knife Jackie” just before Jackson lunged at Dewalt with the knife, according to the arrest affidavit.

“(The witness) heard Dewalt moan, grab his chest and fall to the ground. (The witness) said after Jackson stabbed Dewalt she ran back into the apartment,” detectives alleged.

Detectives observed blood stains in close proximity to the victim’s Ford Taurus vehicle in the rear parking lot of the residence and also observed that both side mirrors of the vehicle had been knocked off, according to the arrest affidavit.

When detectives interviewed Jackson several hours later, she allegedly admitted to stabbing Dewalt, adding she used a black-handled kitchen-type knife she retrieved while inside her apartment, according to court papers.

“Jackson described the knife as having a black handle with a blade approximately eight inches in length,” Crescitelli and Klinger alleged in the criminal complaint.

Investigators recovered a large kitchen-type knife, containing bloodstains, outside in front of the residence, according to court papers.

A conviction of first-degree murder, which is an intentional killing, can carry a sentence of life imprisonment or the death penalty. A conviction of third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice, carries a possible maximum sentence of 20-to-40-years in prison.