‘Is he dead?’ The woman who stabbed the man to death requested self-defense

The woman who stabbed a man to death was arrested on charges of manslaughter at the Indianapolis Housing Authority complex in September.

Tationa Sims, 30, was arrested Tuesday by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police after 65-year-old Forest Hill Jr. was found dead in the John J. Barton Tower. Sims was located downtown by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police earlier this month. There was already an active warrant for the battery charge.

‘No one deserves this.’ 65-year-old man killed at Housing Authority complex in downtown Indianapolis

Forest Hill Jr. Barton died in his apartment

One on September 25th reserve officer While he was working off-duty at the John J. Barton Tower, he was approached by a man who said he was Hill’s nephew. He was trying to contact his uncle, and when he didn’t hear from Hill, his concerns grew. The officer referred him to the assistant principal.

The man became uneasy about the staff who did not inform him about where the room was or did not allow him to go upstairs, and he left without giving further information.

The assistant principal noticed that Hill’s key fob was last used to open his door on September 23 at 10:49 p.m.

When he knocked on the door of his office and did not receive an answer, the deputy director opened the door of the apartment with the reserve officer. Inside, they found Hill dead with a large amount of blood on the floor and walls. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police were called and first responders pronounced him dead at the scene.

He appears to have a stab wound in his chest, according to court records.

Neighborhood residents are worried about security: After a man was found murdered in his downtown Indianapolis apartment

An anonymous tip leads to a suspect

Video footage reviewed by detectives showed Hill entering the apartment complex with a woman at 10:31 p.m. on Sept. 23. Together they take the building’s elevator and enter his apartment.

According to court documents, at 1:23 a.m. on September 24, the woman is seen leaving the apartment without shoes, carrying a cell phone and a backpack. Before leaving the building, he is seen reaching into his backpack and holding a knife-like object in his hand.

On Sept. 27, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police detectives received an anonymous tip involving Sims.

‘Is he dead?’

According to court records, Sims told Indianapolis Metropolitan Police that he was homeless and had been staying with “Mr. Hill” for several weeks after meeting him a few days before his birthday in September.

According to Sims, Hill wanted to be in a relationship but said, “wait, I just got out of a toxic relationship.”

He said everything was fine and he started to reassure himself, but “They all do that, then they get angry and throw you out, or if things don’t go well they let you back in.”

At one point, he stopped staying with her after they had a fight.

“He put his hands on me and started kicking me and taking over like he was going to hurt me, so I stabbed him. I had to use my nice knife to stab him because he was a threat to me,” police said. affidavit of arrest.

According to court documents, Sims said Hill told him to get out after he was stabbed. So she left without her shoes and told detectives she never saw him again. He threw the knife into the trash can of a nearby Marathon gas station, according to testimony.

When asked if she was considering calling the police, she said: “No, I saw your friend in the lobby and told her what happened and told her to help her, that’s all.” He assumed Hill would call the police.

When a detective said, “You can’t call the police if you’re alive,” Sims asked, “Is he dead?” he asked.

Jade Jackson is the Indianapolis Star’s Public Safety Reporter. You can email him at [email protected] and follow him on X, officially Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.

This article first appeared in the Indianapolis Star: Woman jailed in stabbing death of man in Indianapolis claims self-defense