Ex-con stabbed his sister 53 times for taking too long in the bathroom
An ex-con stabbed his 15-year-old sister 53 times last month, killing her, because she took too long in the bathroom, a detective testified Monday.
Gavin Henderson, 27, moved in last year with his mother and siblings at the Lacota Apartments in Dunwoody, Georgia, after being released from a Florida prison following a several-year stint for violent crimes. Henderson turned to his relatives because he had no other options, a Dunwoody Police Department detective testified, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
But Henderson soon had alarming physical confrontations with his family, including pulling a knife on one of his sisters and a deadly dispute with another, Keaira Henderson, on June 18 — when he needed to use the bathroom and she apparently wasn’t finished, Detective Jesus Moldonado testified.
“She said there was an altercation about Keaira taking too long in the bathroom, which led to the fighting,” Moldonado testified in reference to a police interview with Henderson’s 12-year-old sister.
Henderson then allegedly grabbed a 10-inch hunting-style knife and chased Keaira outside the apartment, where the teen started banging on neighbors’ doors for help. Responding police officers would later be unable to count the number of times the teen was stabbed, but the medical examiner’s office counted 53 stab wounds in all, according to the newspaper.
Henderson, according to statements he later gave investigators, knew the stabbing would undoubtedly send him back to prison, so he acted as if there was “no turning back” after stabbing his younger sister once and just kept attacking her, Maldonado testified.
With his hands and T-shirt soaked in blood, Henderson later walked to a nearby convenience store and asked a clerk to call the police, saying there had been an “accident,” Moldonado testified. He is now facing charges of murder, aggravated assault and first-degree cruelty to children, the Ledger-Enquirer reports.
Henderson’s family did not attend Monday’s hearing and his attorney did not address the court on his behalf. A judge ruled that prosecutors had enough evidence to proceed in the case and remanded him into custody, according to the Journal-Constitution.
Keaira Henderson, meanwhile, was remembered as an aspiring attorney who attended Alpharetta High School, according to a GoFundMe page created to help offset funeral expenses. The campaign had raised more than $4,700 as of Tuesday.
“Keaira had a way with words but sadly her voice has been silenced,” the website reads.