Minnesota woman accused of killing ex allegedly said 'I stabbed his a--'

MOORHEAD, Minn. (TCN) -- A woman allegedly fatally stabbed her ex-boyfriend and told officials, "Someone had to end it."

Shortly after midnight on Aug. 4, the Moorhead Police Department responded to Third Avenue North in reference to a possible stabbing. Police located the victim, 47-year-old Willard DeGroat, with a stab wound to the chest. He was transported to Sanford Medical Center and later pronounced deceased.

Officers said the suspect, Connie Jo Frank, also 47, returned to the scene, and they took her into custody. Police didn’t provide further details on the relationship between the suspect and victim, but according to a criminal complaint obtained by KSTP-TV, the two had previously been in a relationship for five years.

A witness told police that he heard DeGroat and Frank arguing that evening, and it escalated into a physical fight, KSTP reports. The witness allegedly asked Frank’s adult child to help.

According to the criminal complaint, the witness said when he and Frank’s son returned, they found DeGroat with the stab wound and saw that Frank had fled.

During transit to the jail, Frank allegedly made multiple statements, including, "I stabbed his a--" and "I would kill him again."

Frank reportedly told authorities she had been staying at her son’s house, and her ex-boyfriend came over and knocked on the windows. KSTP reports that Frank admitted she retrieved a knife from the kitchen, stabbed DeGroat once in the chest, and fled to her neighbor’s backyard. She reportedly came back to speak with investigators.

Police recovered a knife near the scene and obtained surveillance video evidence that revealed Frank shouting at DeGroat and DeGroat yelling for someone to call 911.

Frank remains held in the Clay County Jail on a charge of second-degree murder.

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