CHARLOTTE — Keyara McKnight, 32, is accused of stabbing her child’s father, John Christian, to death Tuesday evening on the 9100 block of Monroe Road in Charlotte, police said.
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Officers responded around 6:15 p.m. to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon at Tint World, located at 9129 Monroe Road, where Christian was an employee. MEDIC pronounced Christian dead at the scene from an apparent stabbing to the torso.
Investigators identified McKnight as the mother of Christian’s child. Police stated the two frequently argued over child support before a physical altercation broke out outside the business.
Witnesses at the scene told detectives that Christian appeared to be closing up Tint World for the night when an older model black Honda sedan pulled up and parked in front of his vehicle, blocking him in. Witnesses observed a woman slap Christian during a heated argument in which both parties were screaming and walking around the vehicles.
According to witness statements, the woman entered the driver’s seat of Christian’s vehicle before he pulled her out. She then fled the scene at high speed in the black sedan, which witnesses described as having dark tinted windows, a pink license plate frame and North Carolina plates.
Investigators with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department used street cameras and Flock license plate readers to locate a matching 2003 Honda Accord with a North Carolina tag. CJLEADS records confirmed the vehicle was registered to McKnight, and a witness confirmed a photograph of the vehicle matched the car observed fleeing the scene.
Union County sheriff’s deputies subsequently located the vehicle near 5401 Wilkerson Drive in Indian Trail. McKnight was sitting in the front passenger seat when deputies approached the vehicle.
Deputies reported that McKnight addressed them as they made contact.
“I’m the one you’re looking for,” McKnight said. The driver of the vehicle told detectives that McKnight had called her earlier stating she needed to turn herself in because she had done something bad.
Detectives observed blood evidence inside and outside the Honda Accord. During an interview at the Law Enforcement Center, McKnight acknowledged being at the scene and engaging in a physical altercation with Christian.
“He was on top and the next moment he was on the ground,” McKnight said.
She was charged with first-degree murder and is being held in jail under no bond.