Woman charged with murder in stabbing death

JACKSON, Tenn. — A woman is facing a murder charge in the city’s first homicide of 2016.

Norma Barnett

Norma Michelle Barnett is charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of 62-year-old Melvin Henning, according to court documents.

Police say they responded to a 911 call just before 4 a.m. Sunday at McMillan Towers, located at 212 South Fairgrounds Street, where Barnett told dispatchers that Henning had fallen on a knife.

Henning was pronounced dead at the scene and had a stab wound to his upper left chest, according to an affidavit.

Barnett told emergency personnel that Henning had slipped and fallen on the knife. When officers searched the scene, they found a large butcher knife with streaks of blood in a closed drawer in the kitchen.

Police say Barnett initially described the knife but later denied knowing where the knife was located or having seen a knife that night.

Henning’s body has been sent to Nashville for an autopsy. Preliminary results from the medical examiner indicate the death was a homicide.

Barnett is being held in lieu of a $100,000 bond.