Newlywed husband James Herring 'stabs PREGNANT wife killing her and the unborn baby boy'

By Lena Sullivan 05/16/2012 22:45:00
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Arrested: James Herring, 34, was charged with the murder of his wife and said that they were having trouble with their week-long marriage
Arrested: James Herring, 34, was charged with the murder of his wife and said that they were having trouble with their week-long marriage

A newlywed man is being held on a murder charge Wednesday after his pregnant wife staggered into a western Arkansas police station with a stab wound to her chest and collapsed.

Emergency responders rushed Celestia Duffin, who was nearly seven months pregnant, to a local hospital where doctors delivered her baby, though they were too late and both she and her son died.

Duffin, 32, had run to the police station from a nearby traffic accident Tuesday where officers found her husband, James Herring.

Victim: Celestia Duffin, 32, was 7-months pregnant when she was stabbed to death, allegedly by her husband of one week

Victim: Celestia Duffin, 32, was 7-months pregnant when she was stabbed to death, allegedly by her husband of one week

 

The couple married a week ago Wednesday, according to court records, but Herring told investigators they were already talking about divorce, Fort Smith police spokesman Sargent Daniel Grubbs said.

Local 5 News reports that, upon questioning, Herring was not happy with their relationship.

‘I don’t understand why he thought that because the marriage was bad he had to do that? That's ridiculous!’ Ms Duffin’s close friend Kari Coffman told the station.

Authorities believe that Duffin was driving with her husband when Herring stabbed her and caused her to crash.

She managed to run to the nearby police station, where she asked for help before collapsing and losing consciousness.

About the same time, someone called police about the accident and found Herring, who 'appeared to be in a state of shock,' Mr Grubbs said in a statement.

Caught: Herring (center) apparently stabbed his wife while she was driving and she crashed the car, which is where police found him

Caught: Herring (center) apparently stabbed his wife while she was driving and she crashed the car, which is where police found him

 

Crash: Police say that Herring began stabbing Duffin while she was driving

Crash: Police say that Herring began stabbing Duffin while she was driving

At the hospital, doctors delivered Duffin's son, but he died before hospital staff could fly him to Little Rock for care. Duffin also has a 6-year-old son.

After talking to investigators, Herring was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder and attempted murder.

Those charges could change and will likely have more added on because the baby died after Herring was booked into jail. Herring, 34, was being held without bond in Sebastian County, near the Oklahoma state border.

'She was very, very excited to find out what the baby was and to get ready to have that baby,' said Ms Coffman..

‘Her son and my daughter played all the time. That boy was the light of her life!

'She was fun to be around, she always made me laugh.

'She's not just someone or something and neither was that baby. She is Celestia.’

 

 

 

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