Javontae Simms, 23, faces second-degree murder charges after allegedly stabbing his brother to death in Minneapolis over a dispute about cleaning the kitchen. The incident occurred early on April 30 at their home. Simms claimed he intended only to fake the stabbing.
Police responded to a call at a home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, just after 3 a.m. on April 30. They found Simms' brother unconscious on the floor with a knife wound to the left side of his chest. His girlfriend was holding a cloth to the injury as officers performed lifesaving measures until paramedics arrived. The brother was pronounced dead at 3:32 a.m., according to the probable cause statement reviewed by Law&Crime. Simms was discovered hiding under a staircase in the basement using a wooden panel and taken into custody. The brother's girlfriend told police that she and the victim had been eating in the kitchen when Simms entered, upset that his brother had not cleaned up to his satisfaction. Another woman present said Simms warned his brother, '[I]f you don't start cleaning up after yourself, it's going to be an issue between you and me.' Simms left, returned with a knife, shoved his brother, and called him a slur, leading to a physical altercation. Witnesses saw Simms standing with a bloody knife as the brother said, '[H]e just stabbed me.' During questioning, Simms said he blacked out, admitted arguing about the kitchen and getting a knife, and claimed he meant to fake stab his brother, who then 'charged him and ran into his knife.' Simms, 23, was charged with second-degree murder and held at Hennepin County Jail on a $1 million bond. He was scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
