A Florida man accused of stabbing his wife in front of his teenage daughter was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
Deputies responded to a domestic violence call in Lakeland Saturday afternoon.
The first deputy to arrive said he saw Kristen Finn, 34, running toward a neighbor’s house with stab wounds, and Michael Finn holding a knife while running after her. The deputy said he witnessed the suspect stabbing the victim again.
“The violent death this mother suffered is unthinkable,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press release. “But the fact that the murder occurred in front of a child during Mother’s Day weekend is horrific. Michael Finn is in jail where he belongs and we will work to ensure he never leaves and never gets another chance to victimize innocent people.”
Deputies said before the stabbing, Finn’s 15-year-old daughter was on the patio in the back of the home when the couple began to argue, and witnessed the incident.
The suspect threw a baseball at the victim and punched her in the face during a fight.
Kristen Finn and the teenager then fled the patio area to the front yard of the home and called deputies. A short time later, Michael Finn charged at Kristen Finn holding a knife he had taken from the kitchen, reports said. The victim attempted to flee by running to a nearby vacant lot but was unable to escape the attack, deputies said.
She was taken to Lakeland Regional Health Center where she died.
Michael Finn was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and violation of probation.
He is being held in jail without bond.
