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Homeless woman stabs fellow transient to death in parking lot after church let them use property to sleep

Kahpri Wells, 32, is in police custody for her alleged role in the death of 28-year-old Tyrone Lee Wetzler

Andrea Cavallier
in New York
Wednesday 28 May 2025 22:12 BST
Woman arrested in deadly stabbing at Surprise church

A homeless woman is in police custody for her alleged role in the death of a fellow transient who was found dead in a church parking lot in Arizona.

Kahpri Wells, 32, admitted to investigators with the Surprise Police Department that she stabbed the man during a fight the night before his body was found on May 27, police said in a statement.

Officers responded to Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Surprise in the area of 114th Avenue and Bell Road around 6 a.m. Tuesday after getting a call about a man lying facedown in the parking lot.

Kahpri Wells, 32, admitted to police that she had stabbed the man during an altercation
Kahpri Wells, 32, admitted to police that she had stabbed the man during an altercation (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

The victim was identified as 28-year-old Tyrone Lee Wetzler, police said in the statement.

He had been stabbed multiple times.

Investigators learned that Wetzler and two other individuals, including Wells, all known transients in the area, had been given permission to stay on the church grounds.

When Wells was questioned by police, she admitted that she had been in a fight with the victim the night before he was found dead and then admitted that she had stabbed him during the altercation before fleeing from the scene, according to police.

Wells was booked into jail on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

An investigation into the fatal stabbing is ongoing.

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