Inset: Christina Copley (Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Arizona neighborhood where Christina Copley lived with her 82-year-old husband and allegedly killed him (Google Maps).
A 41-year-old Arizona woman slaughtered her 82-year-old husband, then showed up on her neighbor‘s doorstep with a 13-inch kitchen knife and blood all over her — claiming she went “ballistic” and stabbed her elderly spouse in self-defense, cops say.
Christina Copley is charged with murder after killing her husband, Ed Copley, at their home in Mesa this past Saturday around 10:30 p.m., according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
Christina Copley allegedly admitted to stabbing her husband and told cops it was because he had come after her first with a knife.
“The defendant described that she removed the knife from the victim and went ‘ballistic’ and started ‘swinging’ to get away while he held onto her shoulders,” according to the affidavit. “She also admitted to taking the knife to her neighbor’s house after the incident.”
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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.
