UPDATE: Lester Charged With First-Degree Murder In Stabbing Death Of University Place Woman

Pierce County prosecutors filed first-degree murder charges today against Joseph Lester, who allegedly his ex-girlfriend who died Monday.

Lewis, 23, is scheduled for arraignment today in Pierce County Superior Court.

According to prosecutors, Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a duplex in the 6000 block of 57th Avenue West in the early evening Monday.

They followed a trail of blood into the home and found Lewis lying face down in a large pool of blood. Medics rendered aid but Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy performed showed that Lewis had been stabbed multiple times, including in the head and throat.

A witness told investigators that as Lester’s car drove past him he heard the driver say, “I’m doing to her what she did to me.”

That was an apparent reference to a prior incident in which Lewis allegedly stabbed Lester during a fight, according to prosecutors. Additional witnesses observed Lester and Lewis talking outside the residence just before the stabbing.

“He’s killing me,” the witnesses said Lewis screamed as she ran bleeding into the home. The couple’s nine-month-old was in the car with Lester during the incident.

An Amber Alert was issued after Lester fled the scene with the couple’s child. As Patch first report, the alert was cancelled later in the evening when Lester arrived at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup to turn himself into police. Lester, who had custody of the child, brought the child to the scene and left the scene with the child. The child was taken into protective custody.

“Ironically, this murder occurred on the last day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said in a press release, “and it highlights the need for continuing efforts to reduce domestic violence through vigorous prosecution and prevention.”

Patch will have more on this story as information becomes available.