SOUTHPORT — Authorities are considering filing murder charges against a Chipley woman who stabbed her boyfriend in an American Legion parking lot.
Earnestine “Tina” Canuet, 64, of Chipley, was arrested and charged with the stabbing last month, but the boyfriend died in a hospital Saturday. Canuet is out on bond.
A Bay County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said Tuesday the agency’s waiting on autopsy details before making a decision on upgrading the current charge against Canuet — aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
The stabbing happened Oct. 21 at the American Legion Post 375 at6937 State 77in Southport. When authorities arrived on the scene, 68-year-old Richard Lielasus was on the ground with a 6-inch gash in the left side of his stomach, and Canuet had his blood on her shirt, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
“I can’t believe that [expletive] stabbed me,” Lielasus said, according to the BCSO report.
Lielasus appeared to be heading into shock when the ambulance arrived and took him to Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart Health System, the BCSO report said.
Other bar patrons pinned Canuet against a Ford pickup truck in the parking lot while they waited for deputies to arrive. As the handcuffs were being put on her, she wept and said “I’m sorry” over and over, according to the BCSO report.
En route to the jail on the stabbing charge, Canuet was in hysterics, making several outbursts including: “Please don’t hate me; I’m not a bad person; I just snapped; he said such mean things to me,” the report said.
She also said, “He broke my heart; he told me to suck it up and get over it; I don’t know why I did it but I just did, and I’ve never hurt anyone before.”
The retired Lielasus often went to the post and was in the bar minutes before he was stabbed in the late afternoon, said Deborah Spain, 29, of Southport, who was there.
“He says, ‘I got to go; I’ve got something to take care of; I’ll see y’all later,’ ” Spain said.
Canuet was not in the post with him, but a few minutes after Lielasus left, she burst in, yelling, “I stabbed him; I stabbed him.” She was holding a big hunting knife, at least 6 inches long, but the situation was too surreal for Canuet to be taken seriously, Spain said.
The patrons wrested the knife from her hands as a bartender went out a side door to check it out, finding Lielasus on the ground with his intestines hanging out, Spain said.
“It was bad. … The way she stabbed him and pulled (the knife) out his insides basically kept the blood from coming out. So he was bleeding internally, and there was nothing we could do,” Spain said.
Lielasus was dazed and talked about how he was in pain, Spain said. Canuet went outside with the rest of the bar patrons and apologized repeatedly to her boyfriend, but then started “getting violent,” Spain said, so she was pinned against a truck until the law enforcement showed up.
“She’s a little crazy,” Spain said.
Post Commander August “Red” Viehweger wasn’t there but said as far he knew no one witnessed the stabbing, only the aftermath.
“There was a lot of heartaches; a lot of people knew the gentleman,” he said.
Viehweger said Lielasus was very nice, but a “little rough around the edges” — not unusual for a former military man. He had served in the U.S. Navy. The post plans to hold a memorial service for him in a few weeks.
“He was a cuttin’ up, gettin’ along kind of guy. … Everybody’s going to miss Richard,” said 46-year-old Chris Windsor, a Southport resident and Army veteran. “Like I said: He was a character. He was — I mean, he had his moments just like anybody else, but he was a pretty decent guy.”
Windsor said his father and Lielasus were close and would cook out and play horseshoes every Saturday afternoon. He was looking forward to additional details being released by the BCSO, hoping to learn a motive.
“I’d like to find out what the hell happened. … A woman just doesn’t gut a man in the parking lot for no reason, unless she’s a real nutty chick — and he had a habit of finding them now,” Windsor said.
An earlier version of this story is posted below:
SOUTHPORT — A Southport man died in a hospital Saturday after being stabbed nearly three weeks ago in an American Legion parking lot in Southport.
The man’s girlfriend, Earnestine “Tina” Canuet, 64, of Chipley, was arrested and charged with the stabbing, but has since bonded out.
No murder charges had been filed as of midday Monday.
The stabbing happened Oct. 21 at the American Legion Post 375 in Southport. When authorities arrived on the scene, 68-year-old Richard Lielasus was already on the ground with a 6-inch gash in the left side of his stomach, and Canuet had his blood on her shirt, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
“I can’t believe that [expletive] stabbed me,” Lielasus said, according to the BCSO report.
He appeared to be heading into shock when the ambulance arrived and took him to Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart Health System, but he was apparently stabilized.
Other bar patrons pinned Canuet against a Ford pickup truck in the parking lot while they waited for deputies to arrive. As the handcuffs were being put on her, she wept and said “I’m sorry” over and over, according to the police report.
En route to the jail on the stabbing charge, Canuet was in hysterics, making several outbursts including: “Please don’t hate me; I’m not a bad person; I just snapped; he said such mean things to me.
“He broke my heart; he told me to suck it up and get over it; I don’t know why I did it but I just did, and I’ve never hurt anyone before.”
Check back later today for more details