A Maryland man has been arrested after his fiancée was found fatally stabbed in her bathroom just days after their engagement, per PEOPLE.
On Thursday (September 18), 44-year-old Shelaya Broadwater was discovered by her 14-year-old child inside their Ellicott City home, Howard County police said. Broadwater was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police arrested 34-year-old Rondale Lavon Dickerson, her fiancé, later that day on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, assault, and home invasion.
According to charging documents, Broadway’s child called 911 and reported finding their mother with “blood everywhere” and multiple stab wounds. The child told authorities that Dickerson had been banging on the apartment door earlier that morning and had attempted to break in. The 14-year-old noted that Broadwater was upset with Dickerson at the time.
Howard County police described the killing as a “targeted” attack.
Later that same day, officers responding to a welfare check at a nearby Walmart found Dickerson shirtless and covered in cuts. Police said Dickerson initially denied involvement but later confessed to the killing.
A motive hasn’t been publicly released.
Broadwater was remembered by family and friends as a kind and gentle person.
“She was a beautiful soul inside and out,” Michael Handy, the victim’s cousin, wrote on Facebook. “To have her snatched from us in such a violent way angers my spirit and breaks my heart.”
“She was silent, quiet, loving and pure in heart… yet a coward chose violence against such a kind soul,” he added.
Dickerson is currently being held without bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for October.
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