By LINDSAY KASTNER
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Nov. 22, 2009, 10:39PM
SAN ANTONIO — If the teenagers' relationship was troubled, Tiffany James showed no hint of unease at school Friday morning.
The senior at Sam Houston High School entered her culinary arts class carrying a Thanksgiving-themed writing assignment from another class: “I am most thankful for my son,” her paper read.
She showed a visitor a photo of the 2-year-old mugging for the camera and talked about plans to visit relatives in Houston during the holiday break from school. Her mother and the baby's father would look after the child while she was gone, James said.
But after she got home from school Friday, San Antonio police say, James stabbed her 18-year-old boyfriend, Antwan Wolford — her toddler's father — several times, killing him in an East Side apartment that she, and sometimes Wolford, shared with her mother.
Police were called to their apartment in the 4600 block of Dietrich Road around 4 p.m., when a neighbor walking upstairs past the apartment spotted the man's body in the doorway and notified apartment management, who called 911.
Officers saw blood outside the apartment and found Wolford lying on his stomach just inside the open door.
James was kneeling near his right leg, crying hysterically, according to an incident report.
As James repeatedly screamed, “No,” and “We were just fighting,” officers realized Wolford was dead.
Charged with murder
Police arrested James, who was charged with murder Saturday. The incident report states James told officers a verbal argument the couple was having escalated to a physical fight, which led to the stabbing.
“She stated she had used a knife to stab him,” the report said.
As Wolford's family gathered Sunday to make funeral arrangements, they said they remained shocked by his death. Wolford's mother, Eshonne Wolford, said the young family had a good relationship.
“It was lovable,” she said.
Wolford's stepfather, Dawayne Huggins, said the pair had an occasional argument.
“But that's with any relationship,” he said. Wolford split his time between his family's home and the apartment James shared with her mother, his family said, but he had recently been spending less time in the Dietrich Road apartment.
His mother said he dropped out of school to get a job and provide for his son. He also had a second child with a different woman, his mother said.
Shared a close bond
A slight, quiet girl, James had nonetheless emerged as a leader in her culinary arts class.
James had hoped to pursue a career in the field after attending St. Philip's College.
Culinary arts instructor Sherry Logan taught James during her junior and senior years, and the two shared a particularly close bond. She called James a promising student.
“That's what hurts me the most,” Logan said, breaking down.
“I was stunned. Every five minutes I think of how nice Tiffany was. It was always, ‘Yes ma'am, no ma'am.' She's such a humble kid. I don't understand it. I'm still trying to figure it out. I can't get her out of my mind. ... She's always been a clear-headed and calm-minded person.”
Authorities said James has no criminal history, and it did not appear that the couple had been involved in any domestic disputes prior to Friday afternoon.
“I know he loved her a lot,” said Wolford's aunt, Destiny Terry, of her nephew's relationship with James.
Staff writer Eva Ruth Moravec contributed to this report.
lkastner@express-news.net
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