A U.S. Army veteran is dead after he was allegedly brutally stabbed by his fiancé at his home in Colorado Springs.
Brandon Watkins was pronounced dead in his home from “traumatic injuries,” the Colorado Springs Police Department confirmed on Facebook.
Watkins, 33, was allegedly stabbed by his fiancée, Jacqueline Souza, after she claimed they were arguing about their upcoming wedding’s guest list, according to court records obtained by the Colorado Springs Gazette.
Souza allegedly told police they were fighting over his desire to invite a wedding guest to their Las Vegas ceremony whom she believed was Watkins’ ex-lover, the records claimed.
Souza, 31, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, the newspaper reported. A spokeswoman for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department tells PEOPLE she was released on Tuesday after posting a $50,000 bond.
Souza allegedly told police she and Watkins returned home from a bar to celebrate their upcoming wedding when the two began to argue about their guest list, according to a police report obtained by Fox News.
She claimed Watkins wanted to invite a woman he allegedly once had an affair with, leading Souza to believe the affair was ongoing, the outlet reported.
Despite speaking to police about the incident, Souza gave police conflicting statements, alleging at one point that Watkins came out of the bathroom to find a knife sticking out of her fiance’s chest, court records obtained by the Gazette claimed.
She also told police she panicked when she saw the knife in Watkins’ chest, pulled it out and threw it onto the kitchen table, according to KKTV.
In a different scenario provided by Souza, she claimed Watkins had grabbed her by the throat and pushed her up against a wall, according to the court documents obtained by the Kansas City Star.
She also alleged they continued their argument in the kitchen where Watkins allegedly pulled out a steak knife, the court documents stated. Souza claimed she pushed him and that he fell on top of the knife.
She is due in court on Aug. 1.
Watkins’ sister, Erika, created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for his funeral and wrote he “was victim to a senseless murder in his own home in Colorado.”
Erika did not focus her brother’s tribute on Souza, instead, she chose to remember her “larger than life” brother who went by “Big Dawg.”
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“Anyone lucky enough to have [known] Brandon, whether for a minute or a decade, can certainly remember at least one interaction with him clear as day,” she wrote on his GoFundMe.
“Brandon was impactful and a presence like no other,” she continued. “Those close to him will understand when we say, he was the one-of-a-kind combination of Stone Cold Stunner and animal lover, bench press crusher and most loving brother, Army vet with no time for complainers and a real-life game changer.”
