ORLANDO, Fla (AP) - A Florida man fatally stabbed his niece in front of her 4-year-old daughter, authorities said.
Salah Hamlette, 39, was charged Monday with second-degree murder in the death of Porche Abraham, 34, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Hamlette told Orange County investigators he and Abraham had been in an incestuous relationship for years and on the previous night the pair were doing cocaine and ecstasy.
An arrest report said the pair began to argue early Monday morning and it turned physical.
The report said Hamlette told investigators Abraham pointed a rifle at him, so he repeatedly stabbed her in self-defense.
Abraham’s daughter told deputies her mom did point the weapon at Hamlette, but then he threw her to the ground and stabbed her in the chest and abdomen.
The report said the rifle was found in a different room than Abraham’s body and should have been “very bloody” if it was near her when she was stabbed but the weapon only had a few bloody smudges on it.
Abraham was also found with a gunshot wound in her neck but Hamlette denied shooting her and her daughter didn’t mention the shooting, the report said.
Abraham’s cause of death wasn’t immediately released. It’s unclear whether Hamlette had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
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