A transgender woman from Philadelphia was arrested for murder after she allegedly stabbed her boyfriend to death.
Police in Norristown arrested Asia Dominique Santana Aug. 13 and charged her with first-degree murder in the death of Eric Nevith, 28.
A statement from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office after the arrest described that Santana, who is identified by her birth name, Tyrone Crawley, called police shortly after 2 p.m. last Friday. The DA said Santana reported that her boyfriend was unresponsive and that she “may have used a knife” to kill him.
When police arrived, Santana, 40, of Philadelphia, was sitting on the front steps of a home in the 400 block of Moore Street, where she and Nevith had been staying for several days.
Police found Nevith’s body in a second-floor bedroom, wrapped in a sheet and comforter.
The DA’s office said Santana related to detectives that she and Nevith were alone in the bedroom when they got into an argument and Nevith struck her in the face. She said she “blacked out” and “the next thing he [sic] recalled was Nevith lying on the floor, bleeding from his mouth. The defendant said he [sic] then realized he [sic] was holding a knife in his [sic] own hand.”
Santana told detectives she placed the knife near the bedroom television set and placed Nevith’s body on the bed, covering him with the sheet. Satana told police she took a shower after the incident because she “felt dirty.”
An autopsy was conducted, and the forensic pathologist found multiple stab wounds to the torso, back and leg and ruled the death a homicide.
Santana was denied bail during her arraignment last week and is currently being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 23.
While the reason for the fight was not clear, the Times Herald reported that Santana’s family said she had been upset that Nevith had allegedly infected her with HIV.
According to Santana’s Facebook page, she is a 1988 graduate of Martin Luther King High School and studied communications at Community College of Philadelphia. She wrote that she works in the jewelry department at Macy’s.
According to court records, Santana was arrested in Philadelphia in 2000 on charges of robbery, simple assault and reckless endangerment and the following year for prostitution.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].