Inset: Christina Copley (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Arizona community where Christina Copley resided with her 82-year-old husband, whom she allegedly killed (Google Maps).
In a dramatic event in Arizona, a 41-year-old woman arrived at a neighbor’s doorstep covered in blood and wielding a 13-inch kitchen knife. She told a shocking tale: she had gone “ballistic” and stabbed her elderly husband, claiming it was self-defense, law enforcement authorities reveal.
Christina Copley faces murder charges for the fatal incident involving her husband, Ed Copley, at their Mesa residence late on a recent Saturday night, around 10:30 p.m., as reported in an arrest affidavit accessed by Law&Crime.
She allegedly confessed to deputies that she had stabbed her husband, stating it was an act of self-defense, as he had initially attacked her with a knife.
According to the affidavit, “The defendant narrated that she took the knife from the victim and went ‘ballistic,’ swinging wildly to escape while he grasped her shoulders.” She also acknowledged that she carried the knife to her neighbor’s home following the ordeal.
Christina Copley’s neighbor in the gated community of Windsong at Las Sendas told police she showed up on their doorstep holding the knife and “covered in blood,” per the affidavit. She allegedly had blood on her face, neck, arms and legs. At least two people were at the residence and saw Christina Copley, according to the affidavit.
“The defendant entered the residence, sat in the living room, and made statements to [the neighbor] that she had stabbed her husband and he was deceased,” the document explains, noting how the neighbor “immediately” contacted police.
“[The neighbor] disclosed that the defendant had previously come to her residence periodically for the past four months and had made statements that her husband abused her, was a child molester, abused her daughter, and forced her to have sexual intercourse with him,” the affidavit says. “However … the defendant’s statements would change, be inconsistent or not make sense during those disclosures. It was also known that the defendant suffered from an unknown mental health diagnosis and was previously prescribed lithium.”
Officers arrived at the scene and found Ed Copley dead on the floor next to his bed “with a large quantity of blood around him,” according to police. He appeared to have been stabbed numerous times in the neck, face and sternum.
Cops asked Christina Copley what happened and she allegedly told them at first that she did not kill her husband. She claimed that Ed Copley “came at her with a knife” and she suffered injuries to her hand while taking it from him.
Christina Copley pointed to a tear in her pants, as well as a “long thin abrasion” down her chest, which she said were caused by Ed Copley “trying to stab her,” according to the affidavit. However, police say there was no laceration or skin injuries underneath the tear in the pants and the abrasion appeared to be caused by a “fingernail scratch.”
Christina Copley allegedly claimed that earlier in the day, Ed Copley kicked her and “called her racist names.” She said he abused her often and “her actions were self-defense,” according to the affidavit.
“It should also be noted that there are prior calls for service involving domestic violence issues between the defendant and victim which led to the defendant being arrested,” the affidavit says.
Christina Copley was booked into the Maricopa County Jail on a second-degree murder charge. She was being held this week on a cash-only $500,000 bond.
The post 41-year-old wife slaughtered her 82-year-old husband, then showed up on neighbor’s doorstep with 13-inch kitchen knife and a self-defense story, cops say first appeared on Law & Crime.