TOLEDO, Ohio — A woman is was arrested over the weekend after Toledo police say she admitted to stabbing a man with whom she was in a relationship.
Sharonda Tuggle, 31, is being held at the Lucas County jail after being booked on murder charges. The incident happened around 8:45 a.m. Saturday on Artis Place in east Toledo.
Officers responded to a call of a person who had been stabbed and that's when they found the victim, 30-year-old Lawrence Stuart. Police say he was stabbed at least once and died at the hospital.
The suspect, Tuggle, stayed at the scene where she was then arrested.
At the time of his death, Stuart was the fifth person in northwest Ohio killed by someone they'd been in a relationship with and the first male.
Erin Wiley, a domestic violence counselor at the Willow Center, explained situations where men are the victim of domestic violence are extremely underreported.
"There are some men out there - like women who are abused - who want to protect their abuser because they still love them and they're in a relationship with them and they may be parents to their children," Wiley said. "So in addition to the stigma of men being abused, there's also that desire to protect the relationship and the person."
Wiley said sometimes there are very obvious signs of assault. And other times, it can go unnoticed.
"But I really do believe that victims of violence are great at concealing it because of the stigma," she said. "So unless they have a partner who refuses to let them go out and see friends or family, it may be very difficult to detect."
Tuggle is being held on $1,000,000 bond. Her next hearing is scheduled for May 2, unless she gets indicted before that date.