A 23-year-old man is charged with second-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed his brother to death in Minneapolis during an argument about cleaning the kitchen.
The stabbing happened just after 3 a.m. on Thursday, April 30, at a home on the 3000 block of Girard Avenue North.
Javontae Deshawn Simms, of Chicago, faces two counts of second-degree murder in Hennepin County District Court. He is currently being held on $1 million bail.
According to the criminal complaint, Minneapolis police officers responded to a 911 call reporting a stabbing. The caller, later identified as the victim’s girlfriend, told police her boyfriend had been stabbed by his brother.
Officers arrived and found the victim, an adult male, lying on the kitchen floor with a stab wound to his chest. Officers attempted life-saving measures but Minneapolis Fire Department paramedics pronounced the victim deceased at 3:32 a.m.
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The victim’s girlfriend told investigators she lives at the home with the victim and Simms, who is the victim’s brother. She said the two brothers got into an argument about cleaning the kitchen. The argument escalated and Simms grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed the victim once in the chest, the complaint states. After the stabbing, Simms ran downstairs.
A second witness at the home told officers she heard the brothers arguing about cleaning. She then heard the victim say something like “you stabbed me” and saw him holding his chest with blood on his hands. She said Simms then went downstairs.
Officers searched the home and found Simms hiding in the basement underneath a panel. He was taken into custody. A knife was recovered from the kitchen area.
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After being read his Miranda rights, Simms agreed to speak with investigators. He initially claimed the victim came at him with a knife and that the victim was accidentally stabbed during a struggle. He later changed his account and admitted he grabbed the knife first during the argument and stabbed the victim. Simms told investigators the victim was not armed.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner will determine the victim’s cause and manner of death. The victim’s identity has not been released.
Simms is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday. If convicted of second-degree murder, he faces up to 40 years in prison.
