Dog and man stabbed, man dies - Newport News, VA

Saturday, Sep 3, 2011

County: Newport News City

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Matthew Otis Pearson

Police have arrested a man accused of stabbing and killing a man and injuring a dog outside a mobile home early Saturday.

Matthew Pearson, 43, of Rivermont Drive in Newport News was arrested at the scene and charged with aggravated assault, cruelty to an animal and murder, said Holly McPherson, a police spokeswoman.

Police found the victim, a 52-year-old man identified as Melvin Burkett, lying inside his home around 1 a.m. in the 100 block of Rivermont Drive inside the Hilton Village Mobile Home Park, McPherson said. He had been stabbed in the back, arm and chest, she said. He was taken to the hospital, where he died Saturday afternoon.

Burkett lived in the 100 block of Rivermont Drive in Newport News.

Officers found a pit bull that had been stabbed in the backyard, McPherson said. The dog, which did not belong to the victim, had non-life-threatening injuries, she said.

Pearson and the victim got into a fight after having some drinks, McPherson said. The altercation intensified, investigators said, and the man and dog were stabbed.

References

• « VA State Animal Cruelty Map
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