An Independence County woman has officially been charged with first-degree murder stemming from a stabbing incident earlier this month.
Independence County Circuit Court information filed Wednesday reported that Melanie E. Mullins, 39, admitted to stabbing Gerald Swaim to death at a home in the Hutchinson Mountain community.
Mullins told investigators Swaim had been “acting strange,” so while retrieving some of her belongings from his residence on Aug. 9, she took a filet knife, saying she felt as if she needed to protect herself.
Later, at the Hutchinson Mountain home, she said she tried to stab Swaim with the knife, but missed. So she told investigators she chased him to his truck and stabbed him in the chest. The court document said Swaim ran from Mullins, but ended up on his back with Mullins on top, stabbing him in his chest and other parts of his abdomen.
Authorities say after the stabbing, Swaim was transported by private vehicle to White River Health before deputies arrived. The Batesville Police Department was later called to a parking lot near the medical center, where Swaim was located deceased from his injuries. The affidavit said the vehicle in which Swaim was being transported ran out of fuel before reaching the hospital.
Police said Mullins stated several times in interviews with investigators that she wanted the victim dead for things he had done to other women in the past and his actions toward her. She said she took the knife because she felt the victim had been acting strangely, and she knew that she had to kill him to keep him from hurting her and other people. The affidavit noted no violence had allegedly taken place toward Mullins from the victim on the date of the incident.
Mullins (pictured below) remains in the Independence County Detention Center on a $1 million bail.
Image: Independence County Sheriff’s Department
