LEEPER, Pa. (EYT) – Authorities have released additional details surrounding a Sunday morning stabbing that left a Leeper man seriously injured.
State Police in Marienville have filed the following charges against Kayla M. Butler, 26, of Tionesta, in connection with the alleged stabbing:
– Criminal Attempt – Criminal Homicide (Felony 1)
– Aggravated Assault (Felony 1)
– Aggravated Assault (Felony 2)
– Simple Assault (Misdemeanor 2)
– Recklessly Endangering Another Person (Misdemeanor 2)
– Use/Possession Of Drug Paraphernalia
According to a Criminal Complaint filed at Magisterial District Court 18-3-02, State Police responded to a report of stabbing in Leeper around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Police were dispatched to Uni-Mart at the intersection of State Route 66 and State Route 36.
Upon arrival, police discovered that the victim, Derek Kirkpatrick, 25, of Leeper, had suffered one stab wound to the upper right chest and one to the right side of his face.
The complaint states that a witness told police that he was inside the store and heard a horn blowing. When he went outside, he observed what he believed to be an argument occurring inside a black Honda Civic parked in the store’s parking lot.
The witness stated that he saw a female exit the vehicle and walk across the parking lot. He then stated that he saw the victim get out of the driver’s side of the vehicle.
According to the complaint, the witness told police that the victim was bleeding and was calling for the female to return, at which point she started to walk back towards the victim, but then she turned and walked the other way.
The witness told police he heard something fall and hit the ground in the area of the female. The complaint states that the witness subsequently located a knife in the parking lot of the Sawmill Restaurant, located across State Route 66, adjacent to Uni-Mart. He then picked up the knife and took it back to Uni-Mart. The female continued north on State Route 36 on foot, according to the witness.
Police describe the weapon as a pocket knife approximately 3 inches in length.
Surveillance video from Uni-Mart was reviewed and store personnel identified the female as the defendant, Kayla M. Butler.
Police located Butler a short time later at a residence near the scene. Blood was found on her hands and clothes, according to the complaint.
Police say she was also found to be in possession of a small metal pipe that had the odor of burnt marijuana.
She faces a preliminary hearing on December 9 before Magisterial District Judge Timothy P. Schill.
Butler remains lodged in the Clarion County Jail on $20,000 straight cash bail.
Kirkpatrick was transported to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment of serious injuries. There is no word on his current condition.
Copyright © 2024 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited.
