Ind. man allegedly fatally stabbed public defender girlfriend during fight over chopped onions

GRABILL, Ind. (TCD) — Investigators are alleging a 60-year-old man fatally stabbed his girlfriend, then staged the scene and waited an hour before calling for help.

On Feb. 3 at approximately 8:30 p.m., Allen County Sheriff’s Office officers and paramedics went to the 10500 block of Lagoon Drive for a report of a stabbing. When they arrived, they found an unconscious adult, who was declared deceased at the scene. Deputies detained Charles Michael Calvert and arrested him on a charge of murder.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Calvert called 911 to report his girlfriend was “no longer with us” after she approached him with a knife during an argument. He said he was also armed with a knife during the dispute, and that both weapons were still in the kitchen.

One of the arriving officers saw Calvert in the driveway with his hands up. The officer went inside and found the victim “lying face down with a big gash on her head and neck area.” He checked for a pulse, but she did not have one. The officer reportedly noted the kitchen “appeared disheveled with a broken Crock-Pot, some bloody kitchen knives, and food items scattered around like there had been a struggle.”

Officers spoke with Calvert, who said he and the victim had been dating for about a year, and that night, she “got very aggressive.” Calvert alleged he was chopping up some onions, but the victim “stated that he wasn’t doing it correctly.”

She allegedly pushed the Crock-Pot at him and picked up a knife. Calvert said he picked up another knife in response and “became defensive.”

According to the affidavit, crime scene technicians and investigators went to the home to document the scene but noted that the knives near the victim’s body looked like they had been staged. One serrated knife reportedly had blood on it, while the other was “relatively clean.”

Investigators found an onion peel in the trash but “did not observe a chopped-up onion anywhere in the kitchen.”

The affidavit says there was bloodstained men’s clothing near the kitchen island and the victim’s glasses on the counter. There were also scuff marks on the floor that showed signs of a struggle. In addition to the wound on her neck, the victim had apparent stab wounds that went through her shirt, as well as cuts on her lip. Her thumb was “severely cut, to the point it was nearly severed.”

One of the crime scene technicians reportedly found blood in the master bathroom.

Police listened to the 911 call in which Calvert appeared “very calm” and had “no sense of urgency whatsoever.” He allegedly waited about an hour before calling police.

WPTA-TV identified the victim as Marcia Linsky. She worked as an Allen County public defender and previously served as a magistrate judge. The law firm where she worked, Close & Hitchcock LLP, also confirmed her death.

Calvert is in custody at the Allen County Jail and is being held without bond.

MORE: