Inset: Violette Pierre (GoFundMe). Background: The home in Harrisburg, Pa., where cops say Violette Pierre was murdered by her husband Rocheny Clerge (WMBF).
A 13-year-old boy in Pennsylvania came home from school to find his mother dead on a bathroom floor covered in blood after she was fatally stabbed by his stepfather, who tried to slice his own throat open but survived, according to cops.
Violette Pierre, 31, was murdered by her husband, Rocheny Clerge, on Nov. 25 inside the family's residence in Harrisburg, according to a police press release.
Pierre, a mother of three, was found underneath Clerge's body after he allegedly tried to take his own life following the slaying.
"Clerge was also covered in a large amount of blood," an arrest affidavit obtained by local NBC affiliate WGAL says. "A large knife was located to the right of Clerge in a baseboard heater. Officers observed Clerge moving and pulled him off of Pierre and performed lifesaving measures on him. Clerge had a large laceration on the side of his neck and was badly bleeding."
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Pierre's son ran "frantically" out of the house and down the street to alert a neighbor, who called 911, according to WGAL. The boy later told police that his parents fought "all the time" and were arguing that morning when he left for school. He alleged that Pierre threatened to leave Clerge the day before the stabbing attack.
"Clerge was rushed to a local hospital for advanced medical care, and an investigation was initiated," the affidavit says. He is expected to survive.
Home security footage reportedly shows Pierre's son leaving for school around 8:30 a.m. before returning in the afternoon to find his mom and Clerge. An uncle was captured on video taking Pierre's two other children to school that morning while she and Clerge were allegedly fighting. The son can be seen "exiting the residence frantically about 10 to 20 seconds after he entered," according to the affidavit.
"During the course of the investigation, it was determined that Clerge was responsible for the death of the victim," Harrisburg police said in the department's press release.
Clerge was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and possession of an instrument of a crime. He is being held without bond with a preliminary hearing set for Dec. 23.
