(This story was revised to include new information.)
One person is dead and another injured from stab wounds after a domestic disturbance, the Lake Wales Police Department reported.
Officers responded at 4:46 p.m. on June 12 to a report of a stabbing at 108 W. Sessoms Ave. They found two people with apparent stab wounds, LWPD said in a news release. A man was pronounced dead, and a woman was airlifted to a hospital for treatment.
Police said in a news release that the man and woman had been in a relationship for about 10 years. On June 12, a domestic confrontation began during which the man struck the woman in the face.
Police said the woman retreated into her residence to call 911 but her phone was dead and she began charging it. Believing the man had left the area of her home, she started to go back out to her car to retrieve some personal items, but because of the man’s previous actions, she took a kitchen knife with her.
According to investigators, the man approached her and struck her in the head with a machete. She defended herself with the knife and stabbed him, then subsequently dropped the weapon.
Police said the man grabbed the knife and stabbed the woman in the back, leaving it lodged in her. Then he collapsed from his own stab wound.
When police arrived, they found the man unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead. The woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment of her wounds. She was in stable condition as as of the afternoon of June 13.
Based on information so far, police said the incident appears to be a case of self-defense and no criminal charges are expected.
Lake Wales police declined to identify the woman or the man, citing Marsy’s Law.
Police ask anyone with additional information to call 863-678-4223.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lake Wales police say woman stabbed long-time partner to death in apparent self-defense
Reporting by Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
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