Woman accused in gruesome stabbing murder appears in Bingham County court

BLACKFOOT — Gruesome photos and videos were on display in a Bingham County courtroom Thursday as prosecutors worked to tell the story of a man who was killed in his Blackfoot apartment last November.

Melissa Perkes, 35, is charged with second-degree murder after Jace Williams, 37, was found stabbed to death in the hallway of his apartment complex.

During the hearing, Magistrate Judge James H. Barrett Jr. found probable cause to continue Perkes’ case after multiple witnesses testified about the night of the alleged murder.

Family and friends of those involved sat in the audience as they were shown surveillance camera footage and photos from the apartment complex hallways.

RELATED | Court documents reveal grisly details about deadly Blackfoot stabbing

In one of the muted videos, Williams is seen stumbling out of an apartment with a large kitchen knife in his hand. As he turns his back to the camera, you can see bloody wounds have seeped through the clothes on his back.

He hurries down the hallway toward a set of stairs, banging on neighbors’ doors and seemingly yelling until he gets to the end of the hallway, where he sits on the floor and eventually lies down. According to investigators, that is where he died.

Multiple law enforcement officials testified on Thursday, describing what they saw the night of the alleged murder.

RELATED | Police identify homicide victim as suspect awaits court appearance

Sgt. Quinton Kraus, with the Blackfoot Police Department, testified he was first on the scene. He immediately saw blood dripping down the wall of a stairwell from the hallway above. He found a large kitchen knife on the stairs before reaching the top and finding the victim’s body.

“At approximately 11:44 p.m., we were dispatched to a report of a male subject knocking on apartment doors in the hallway and saying he had been stabbed,” said Kraus. “As I reached the top of the stars, the male subject was laying against the railing on his left side. I turned toward (him), I could see his fingers moving a little bit, and I saw his mouth moving like he was trying to breathe. I asked if he could hear me, but I didn’t get any response from him.”

Kraus went on to say he quickly checked a nearby laundry room for any potential suspects, and when he returned to the victim, Williams was no longer breathing and did not have a pulse. At that time, he attempted to administer life-saving measures but was unsuccessful.

A photo shown in court was a close-up of the victim’s back, showing multiple stab wounds. Investigators estimated the knife to be 10 inches long.

More testimony came from Blackfoot Police Officer Loren Dobson, who told the court he reviewed security footage from the apartment hallways showing Perkes leaving the apartment barefoot, shrugging her shoulders, and then leaving out the back stairwell, one minute after we see the victim stumbling down the hallway.

“(Williams) had the knife in his right hand, and he was just banging on every single door, as he’s walking by,” said Dobson. “You can’t quite see it because of how dark it is, but he continues to walk toward the stairwell. He ends up sitting right back there.”

The court also heard testimony from Detective Luis Chapa with the Blackfoot Police Department.

Chapa testified he was one of the main detectives who processed the scene, finding evidence in the apartment and the hallway and taking photos.

Shown in court were photos taken depicting cast-off blood stains on the walls of the bedroom inside the apartment, as well as transfer bloodstains on the bed sheets, recliners in the living room, and “lots of blood” in the hallway of the apartment.

“You can see some blood stains on the curtains,” said Chapa. “Something bad happened there.”

One of the last pieces of evidence shown in court was a text message sent from Perkes after she had been arrested and was in jail. It was sent to an unidentified person outside the facility using the jail communication system Telmate.

Perkes claimed Williams was still “manipulating her” after his death and said her lawyer was not doing anything for her.

Though Perkes has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean she committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

Perkes is expected to be arraigned in district court in front of District Judge Darren Simpson on Jan. 20. If convicted, she could face up to life in prison.