A woman has expressed remorse for her actions during an altercation involving a kitchen knife and alcohol, which created a deadly situation for her boyfriend early Tuesday morning, according to the Johnson City Police Department.
Elizabeth Ann Archer, 30, was charged with second-degree murder after police said they found her boyfriend Jeremy Mounts, 29, at their home, 306 E. Chestnut Street, with a laceration to his lower torso.
Police were responding to a domestic assault call around 5 a.m. and said a large kitchen knife was used to inflict a single stab wound.
“Archer was transported to the police department and gave a full statement to where she had an altercation with him and a stabbing had occurred,” said JCPD Sgt. Steve Sherfey, at a media briefing in the Commission Chambers of the Municipal and Safety Building on Tuesday. “She definitely, obviously was upset and didn’t think he had been injured to the extent that he was.”
Sherfey said investigators are trying to figure out the cause of the argument and the charge is based on the lack of evidence at this point for premeditated murder.
“It was kind of a heat-of-the-moment type thing,” Sherfey said.
Domestic violence calls are prevalent in Johnson City, Sherfey said.
“There is no history between these two, not to say there hasn’t been violence in the past between them - I don’t know because we haven’t got that far into the investigation yet,” Sherfey said.
“This may not have occurred had there not been alcohol involved, you never know. Usually when drugs or alcohol are involved it amplifies a situation that would ordinarily work itself out ... but unfortunately with the amount of alcohol that was involved the fight continued and turned deadly.”
It is unclear whether there were any other witnesses, Sherfey said, but a family member also resides in a separate part of the home where the incident occurred.
“We don’t believe there were (witnesses), but if we find somebody later or there’s other physical evidence that shows there was premeditation then of course we will change the charge,” Sherfey said.
Mounts was taken to Johnson City Medical Center, where he died from his injuries possibly while in surgery, Sherfey said.
Sherfey said no official statement was taken from Mounts at the scene.
Archer was taken to the Washington County Detention Center, where she was held on $100,000 bond and was scheduled to appear in Sessions Court Wednesday at 9 a.m.