- Katelynn Kearney, 32, charged with criminal homicide in the death of Dontay Maurice Hunter, 45
- Initial evidence tampering charges filed against her and her mother, Joanne Kearney, 61
- Surveillance footage captured the couple before the stabbing and showed suspicious movements afterward
- Investigators discovered a bloody knife and clothing discarded in a nearby dumpster
- Kearney eventually confessed to stabbing Hunter after multiple denials, claiming self-defense
Authorities in Pennsylvania have charged a Lebanon woman with homicide after her boyfriend was discovered fatally stabbed in their shared apartment earlier this month.
On Monday, the Lebanon County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Katelynn Kearney, 32, was charged with criminal homicide following the killing of her boyfriend, Dontay Maurice Hunter, 45.
Kearney and her mother, Joanne Kearney, 61, had earlier been charged with tampering with evidence as part of the ongoing investigation. Those charges came just one day after police found Hunter dead in his bed at the couple’s Chestnut Street apartment in Lebanon City.
Responding officers said they discovered a large amount of blood on Hunter’s torso and throughout the apartment after Kearney called 911, claiming she found him “not breathing.”
Investigators later reviewed surveillance footage showing Hunter and Kearney entering their apartment together around 8 p.m. on October 4. Moments later, a woman’s voice could be heard shouting, “Get off of me.”
Police allege that Kearney then went next door to her mother’s apartment. Moments later, her mother was seen standing in the doorway, allegedly saying, “He’s dead.”
The footage showed both women reentering Hunter’s apartment. About an hour later, Kearney left carrying a white plastic bag and returned 10 minutes later without it.
Authorities say the bag was later found in a nearby dumpster, containing a bloody knife and bloodstained clothes matching what Kearney wore that night.
According to District Attorney Pier Hess Graf, Kearney’s 911 call quickly raised suspicion.
“Her tone of voice remained flat, and she displayed no emotion,” Graf said in a press release. “At times her speech turned into incoherent mumbling. The Defendant never admitted she stabbed the victim or took his life.”
During questioning, Kearney initially told police she discovered Hunter dead the next morning after an argument the night before. But investigators said her story soon unraveled.
“In her first statement to police, the Defendant lied,” the DA’s office said. “She told police she found the victim in his apartment, he was not breathing, and she called 911. The Defendant’s mother reiterated the Defendant’s lies in her initial statement to police.”
Graf added that Kearney later attempted to blame another man who lived in the same complex and had a prior relationship with her.
Even after being shown the surveillance footage, police say she continued denying involvement until she was confronted for over an hour.
“After all of her lies to police, the Defendant admitted she stabbed the victim but then attempted to claim self-defense,” the press release states. “A search of the Defendant’s person revealed no injuries. The Defendant did not request medical care.”
During a later reenactment at the apartment, Kearney claimed Hunter never had a weapon but had grabbed her arms during the altercation.
“She continued to make stabbing motions with the knife,” investigators wrote. “The victim fell onto his bed and told the Defendant she stabbed him. The Defendant saw the victim start to bleed. At no point did the Defendant render aid or phone 911 for help. The Defendant believed she stabbed the victim twice. She further stated she accidentally stabbed the victim due to her tremors.”
Police records indicate Kearney mentioned prior abuse in their relationship, but investigators only found a single 2013 battery conviction against her in Florida.
Kearney remains in custody at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility, awaiting her first court appearance.
