Witnesses recount Walmart stabbing

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

After fatally stabbing his wife and then himself in a Wal-Mart parking lot, a Lawrenceville man mumbled "I don't want to die," according to police.

Phillip Chad Dunn, 28, suffered a cut about a half-inch to an inch wide in the Sunday attack, according to a Suwanee police report obtained by the AJC. He was released from the hospital the following day and charged with killing his estranged wife,  27-year-old Shelley Dyan Dunn. He remains in the Gwinnett County Jail on a felony murder charge without bond.

Witnesses called 911 after watching the couple fight during an apparent custody exchange around 4 p.m. Sunday, police said. One witness, identified in the report as Hugh Porter, told police he saw Phillip Dunn strike his wife. Porter attempted to separate the couple by grabbing the man from behind.

Officers arrived at the scene to find both Philip and Shelley Dunn on the ground as a child screamed "daddy" from inside a vehicle. The couple has two daughters, ages 6 and 8.

Shelley Dunn had a weak pulse when police arrived at the scene, but was unconscious, according to police. Phillip Dunn was on his stomach on the ground between a green pickup truck and Chevrolet Tahoe, police said. He was struggling to breathe, according to the incident report.

Police found the apparent weapon -- a silver kitchen knife -- in the bed of the truck, the report states. Shelley Dunn later died at Gwinnett Medical Center.

The funeral for Shelley Dunn will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at First Pentecostal Church of Buford.