Woman accused of killing boyfriend had stabbed him before, court docs allege

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The woman charged with fatally stabbing her boyfriend in Trenton last week was arrested this past August for allegedly assaulting him a knife in the same home, court documents show.

Tahira Young, 38, is charged with murder and related weapon possession crimes for the Feb. 15 death of Antwone Barnes, 37. The two had an “on-again/off-again” relationship, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office has said.

Young remains jailed pending a court appearance, which is scheduled for this coming Tuesday. The office has said it will argue she remain in custody pending trial. A lawyer for Young could not immediately be reached.

Young was charged in August of 2021 with aggravated assault and the same weapon possession charges for allegedly stabbing Barnes several times, court papers filed against Young say.

Trenton police were called to their East Hanover Street apartment for an injured person and were met with a trail of blood they followed to the second floor, an office wrote in the papers.

There they found Young and Barnes, who was identified by his initials, in a bathroom – both covered in blood. (Authorities now say that victim was also Barnes.)

He’d been stabbed multiple times, and Young told police she stabbed him, “while she was swinging the knife.” Officers arrested Young, and classified Barnes as a domestic violence victim.

What the Centers for Disease Control calls “intimate partner violence” or IPV, is common and affects millions of people annually in the United States, the agency says. Women are more likely than men, 1 in 4 versus 1 in nearly 10, to be the victim of IPV.

Locally, it’s roughly the same picture, according to Lauren Nazarian, chief development officer at Womanspace – which aids domestic and sexual violence victims in Mercer County.

The organization also serves men, however they suspect more men do not seek help due to the ongoing stigma of men as domestic violence victims, she said.

In the fiscal year that ended in July 1, 2021, Womanspace provided services to 11,188 people, and 496 were men.

The organization provided shelter for four men, and assisted 40 men through domestic violence response teams, meaning 40 males went to the police and asked for on-site help. Womanspace also provided counseling to nine men and assisted 60 in Family Court matters.

Barnes’ family members could not immediately be reached for comment.

He was killed in the same apartment on East Hanover Street last week.

Homicide detectives wrote in the new murder charges against Young that another person was with the couple the night before for dinner, had stayed over and was awoken by Young after 2 am The person said Young reported Barnes was unresponsive.

The visitor found Barnes face down on the kitchen floor, and dialed 911, and that Young never said what happened, a detective wrote in the criminal complaint against Young. That witness said it was not apparent Barnes was stabbed until Trenton EMS arrived.

Paramedics pronounced Barnes dead in the apartment minutes later, authorities said.

Arriving police officers found a knife in the kitchen sink with apparent blood on the blade, as well as dried blood on the carpet and couch in the living room, and food and a cooking tray strewn about the room.

Officers detained Young at the scene, and homicide detectives charged her with murder the next day.

The person in their apartment told detectives that Young and Barnes had a “bad relationship and fought all the time.”

Womanspace’s domestic violence and sexual assault hotline in Mercer County is staffed 24/7 and can be reached at 609-394-9000. The New Jersey Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-572-SAFE (7233). Reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), chat with their advocates here or text LOVEIS to 22522.

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Kevin Shea may be reached at [email protected].

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