Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Miramar, FL: Miramar man, 49, charged with killing 'abusive' father-in-law

A Miramar man accused of killing his father-in-law told investigators he was fed up with the man's abusive behavior.

Thomas Stovall, 49, was arrested Sunday on a charge of non-premeditated murder. He is accused of beating his wife's stepfather over the head with a clothes iron and stabbing him multiple times during a domestic dispute.

Police were called to the home along the 6700 block of Arbor Drive in Miramar shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday about a report of a domestic dispute with a weapon, authorities said.

There, George Belfond, 79, was found on the floor of his bedroom wearing a white T-shirt covered with blood, according to an arrest report.

Stovall's wife told police that her husband and Belfond, her stepfather, started arguing after she confronted Belfond about hitting her mother, the report said.

The woman told investigators that her husband picked up the clothes iron and held it in a threatening manner to fend off Belfond who allegedly grabbed a butcher knife he kept in his bedroom and started to approach them.

According to the report, Stovall's wife said she tried to separate the two men but eventually her husband hit Belfond in the head with the iron until he dropped the knife.

Although no witnesses at the scene reported seeing the stabbing, hospital officials told investigators that Belfond sustained about 15 to 16 stab wounds along with a skull fracture. He was pronounced dead around 10:37 p.m. Sunday night, police said.

While being interviewed by Miramar police, Stovall admitted beating and stabbing Belfond after seeing him arguing with his wife and going toward her with a butcher's knife, the report said.

"He is abusive towards my wife, towards his wife, and towards my kids and I've had enough of it," Stovall is quoted as saying in the report.

Stovall is being held without bond at Broward County's Main Jail.

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