CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police arrested a man they said stabbed a woman to death in northeast Charlotte early Tuesday morning.
IMAGES: Woman stabbed to death in NE Charlotte
Officers were called to the 1600 block of Vancouver Drive, near the Hidden Valley neighborhood, just before 2 a.m. and found Shenika Simpson, 37, who had been stabbed.
(Simpson)
Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
Michael Joseph Boone, 32, was charged with first-degree murder, police said.
The two knew each other.
Boone is on parole and a registered sex offender.
Boone served three years in prison in Colorado for possession of contraband, according to records.
"I feel like I could have helped her," said Daren Taylor, who lives at the home on Vancouver Drive.
He said several people rent rooms there and heard the victim plead for her life in another room.
"I heard 'boom, boom, boom' and a lot of rumbling, and then I heard a girl saying, 'Please, please,'" Taylor said.
(Boone)
Simpson's death marks the third homicide in as many days to start the new year in Charlotte.
Twenty-two-year-old Natanael Jose Rodriguez was shot to death Monday. No arrests have been made in his death.
A 14-year-old boy was shot Monday night in east Charlotte and died at the hospital the next day.
Homicides in Charlotte reached an 8-year high in 2016, with 67 slayings.
CMPD Chief Kerr Putney requested 125 new officers last year and City Council approved funding for half to be added this year.
"In the past year, I think everyone has learned the need for a strong police department," Councilman Kenny Smith said. "I think its important the citizens of Charlotte can walk the streets and feel safe."
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