Inset: Connie Jo Frank (Clay County Detention Center). Background: The home where Frank allegedly killed her ex-boyfriend (KVLY).
A 47-year-old woman in Minnesota was arrested over the weekend after she allegedly killed her ex-boyfriend, stabbing him “deeply” in the chest, fleeing, then returning to the scene while police were present and telling them she would “kill him again” if given the chance.
Connie Jo Frank was taken into custody on Sunday and charged with one count of second-degree murder in the slaying of 47-year-old Willard DeGroat, authorities announced.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, officers with the Moorehead Police Department at about 12:18 a.m. on Aug. 4 responded to a home in the 1000 block of Third Avenue North in regard to a reported stabbing. The residence is about 230 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located an adult male — later identified as DeGroat — suffering from what appeared to be a stab wound to the upper chest. Officers recovered a “kitchen-style knife” from the home and also noted that DeGroat suffered abrasions to his forehead and the top of his head.
Emergency medical personnel transported DeGroat to the Sanford Medical Center for treatment but he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the facility, police said in a news release.
Frank’s adult son and another unidentified adult male also live in the Third Avenue North home.
The unidentified man told police that he was familiar with DeGroat and identified him as Frank’s ex-boyfriend. He said he heard Frank and DeGroat “engaging in an argument earlier that night” and soon after, he “observed a physical altercation between the two.”
At that point, the man said he went upstairs to get Frank’s son to intervene, but by the time he made it back downstairs, DeGroat “had a stab wound to his chest and [Frank] had left the residence.”
Frank’s son told authorities that his mother and DeGroat had been dating “on and off” for about five years and confirmed that he also heard the verbal argument between the two. When he came down and saw DeGroat with the stab wound he said he called 911.
While authorities were on the scene, Frank returned to the home and was quickly detained for additional questioning. During the ensuing ride, Frank allegedly made some spontaneous — and incriminating — utterances.
“Defendant made several unprompted statements enroute to the jail including, ‘I stabbed his a–‘ and ‘I would kill him again,”” the affidavit states.
Frank allegedly told detectives she had dated DeGroat for several years but had recently been staying at her son’s home.
“Defendant indicated the Victim had arrived at the residence earlier and was knocking on the windows. Defendant stated she was tired of the Defendant and that ‘someone had to end it,’” police wrote. “Defendant stated that she grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter and stabbed the Victim once deeply in the chest.”
Frank allegedly said she fled from the home and hid in her neighbor’s backyard, but eventually decided “to stop hiding and returned to the residence to speak with law enforcement.”
Police reviewed surveillance footage from a neighbor’s camera and said Frank can be heard yelling at DeGroat “just before” DeGroat “is heard screaming for someone to call 911 because he was dying.”
Frank is currently being held at the Clay County Correctional Facility on bond of $2 million. She is currently scheduled to appear in court on the afternoon of Aug. 29.
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