LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) - A Lowell man has been ordered held without bail after prosecutors say he fatally stabbed a young mother 58 times in Lowell on Thanksgiving.
Leonard D. Robinson, 22, of Lowell, appeared in Lowell District Court on Tuesday to face a murder charge in connection with the death of Dejah Jenkins-Minus, 22 of Boston, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.
When Jenkins-Minus did not show up to a Thanksgiving gathering in Boston on Thursday, her family pinged her phone and discovered it at a home on Llewelyn Street in Lowell where Robinson, identified as her on-again/off-again boyfriend, lived, the prosecution said in court.
Her family called the police for a welfare check.
One family member went to the Lowell house and crawled through a window, where they kicked down a locked bedroom door and found Jenkins-Minus dead inside, the prosecution said.
Officers responded to the house and discovered that Jenkins-Minus had more than 58 stab wounds and a fractured neck, the prosecution added.
“This was a tragic death that was caused by him on Thanksgiving Day,” said Middlesex County Assitant District Attorney Thomas Brant.
Jenkins-Minus’ 2-month-old daughter was found unharmed, the DA’s office said.
Tests reportedly confirmed that blood was present on the baby’s diaper bag.
Officers also reportedly recovered a knife that appeared to be consistent with the murder weapon from the residence after executing a search warrant on Friday. Prosecutors suggested the violence may have been prompted by questions regarding the child’s paternity.
“Social media posts by the defendant questioning whether he was the father of the child, questioning whether he should have a DNA test and also suggesting he was mad at Dejah,” Brant said. “And I would suggest providing a motive for why there would be anger.”
As prosecutors described the scene in graphic detail, the victim’s family looked on in grief and disbelief.
“Dejah was a great daughter, sister, mother, niece, cousin, granddaughter and a friend,” they wrote in a statement to 7NEWS. “We’re all hurting and in pain! We all want justice for Dejah and her baby as well!”
Robinson had a GPS monitor on from a previous incident in Suffolk County but he had cut it off at some point, the prosecution said.
He is due back in court for a probable cause hearing on Dec. 30.
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