Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Miami, FL: Police: Ex-boyfriend admits stabbing woman and her dog to death in Miami Gardens

An ex-boyfriend told police he went to a Miami Gardens home to make amends with his former girlfriend.

Now, Alphonso Jerard Lucas admits he stabbed Terrilyn Gray and her dog to death, and harmed her daughter as well, police say.

“He called me and told me ‘I killed her,’ ” Lucas’ sister, Kimberly Martin, said Tuesday. “He was crying hysterically, saying he stabbed her. He was in shock with his own crime.”

Lucas, 39, turned himself in to Miami Gardens police late Monday.

Gray, 42, and the dog were found dead inside their Miami Garden’s home, in the 4500 block of Northwest 180th Street.

Gray’s daughter, Curtina Gray, 22, escaped and was taken to Jackson North Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition Tuesday night.

Lucas was booked Tuesday afternoon into the Miami-Dade County jail, where he is being held without bail. He faces first-degree murder, attempted murder and armed battery charges.

Police had been called to Gray’s home three times since 2008 regarding domestic issues with Lucas, said lead Detective Joseph Zellner.

It is unclear why Lucas was at the house Monday night. However, according to Lucas’ statement to police, he was “mending ties.”

“A verbal altercation occurred outside the residence,” Zellner said. “The victim fled inside, and he followed her. Then he forced himself inside. She attempted to protect herself. Lucas attacked her, and at some point stabbed her to death.

“Things escalated,’’ Zellner said. “The wind then blew wrong.”

The Lucas and Gray families have different stories of what exactly happened Monday night, but agreed the couple had a rocky relationship.

“They went dancing the night before all this happened,’’ said Gray’s cousin, Lashonda Bowden. “What led to this?”

Martin said her brother went over to Gray’s home to pick up a flat-screen TV and saw Gray getting out of another man’s car. That’s what started the argument, she said.

Carolyn Lucas, another sister, said her brother told her Gray commanded the dog, a boxer, to attack Lucas.

“Terry’s daughter got upset when he killed the dog and hit him across the head with a metal pipe and knocked teeth out of him,’’ Carolyn Lucas said. “He then stabbed both of them in fear for his life.”

Police confirmed Alphonso Lucas had multiple dog bites, bruising, knocked-out teeth and other injuries.

Gray’s parents, who spent the day at Jackson North with their granddaughter, declined to comment on the case. But other family members say Lucas was violent in the past and that the couple stood on “unsteady sand.”

Lucas has a slew of past convictions, including armed robbery, prostitution and resisting an officer with violence, records show.

Six months ago, Lucas was an independent tractor-trailer carrier who transported miscellaneous goods across the country. However, his engine blew and he didn’t have the money to fix it, his family said.

“He used to be able to provide for her,” Carolyn Lucas said. “But then he stopped and they would confront each other. She wanted money, and he would say no because he had five of his own children to feed with child support. He would sell barbecue on the side of the road to not be late on payments.”

Police are investigating whether Lucas was carrying a knife when he entered the home or if he grabbed it from the kitchen, according to Zellner.

“Lucas, Gray and her daughter were the only ones in the home when it happened,’’ Zellner said. “Witness statements aren’t agreeing with each other.”

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