Tracy Mathis, 30, was held without bond Monday on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the death of 26-year-old India Chapple, a woman that he had two children with.
Charging documents say Chapple was found on April 19 at approximately 2:19 a.m. lying on the ground outside of Mathis’s apartment building, conscious with an apparent stab wound to the chest. Less than an hour later, she was pronounced dead. Charging documents say that a medical examiner determined that the stab wound pierced her lung and heart.
Later that morning, Mathis was arrested. According to charging documents, Mathis told police that he and Chapple were romantically involved in the past, but have been apart for about eight years.
According to court documents, Mathis told police that in the early morning hours of April 19, Chapple showed up to his house unannounced and began an argument at his door about Mathis’s relationship with another woman.
Documents say that Mathis said the arguments began to get heated and he tried to end the conversation by closing the door, but Chapple stuck her foot in the door. Then Chapple entered his apartment, continued arguing, and hit Mathis in his face, Mathis told police.
During the struggle, Mathis said that he grabbed a folding knife on his living room table and swung it, striking Chapple in the chest area. After stabbing Chapple with the knife, Mathis told police that he dropped the knife and continued to struggle with her until she left the apartment.
Shortly after, Mathis said that he went outside and didn’t see Chapple at first, but noticed she had fallen to the ground just outside the steps of the apartment building. Mathis told police that he asked a witness to call 911.
The witness later told police that they did not remember seeing Mathis when the witness found Chapple lying in the bushes outside the apartment building. The witness called 911 and waited until the paramedics arrived, according to documents.
A preliminary hearing for this case is scheduled for May 8.
Charging documents are below.
