Brandi Brooker
State to seek death penalty for man accused of fatally stabbing wife in St. Johns County
Derrek Perkins charged with first-degree murder
News4JAX.com
The state intends to seek the death penalty against a man accused of fatally stabbing his wife in St. Johns County, the State Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Derrek Perkins, 41, was indicted Oct. 14 by a grand jury on one count of first-degree murder, one count of burglary of a dwelling with assault/battery while armed and aggravated stalking with a weapon.
On Oct. 13, according to investigators, Perkins attacked Brandi Brooker, 35, as she arrived at a home where she was staying in the Hastings area. State Attorney R.J. Larizza said the victim was “savagely stabbed” about 14 times as she pleaded for her life.
“He lay in wait until she arrived with her co-worker/friend and sprung from his hiding place,” Larizza said in a prepared statement Wednesday.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, said another person inside the house heard the victim yelling “help me” and then called 911. Minutes after the attack, deputies said, Perkins was arrested in the area of State Road 207 and Morrison Road with blood on his legs.
The State Attorney’s Office said Brooker was no longer interested in continuing a relationship with Perkins, and Brooker’s family said she left Perkins before she was killed.
On Oct. 9, investigators said, Perkins tried running over Brooker with his car. On Oct. 12, Brooker took out a restraining order against him -- which had not been served yet. The next day, deputies said, Perkins went to her workplace and stole her wallet hours before she was killed.
Prosecutors said the state’s notice of intent to seek the death penalty -- which was filed Wednesday -- lists multiple aggravating factors, including that the incident was “heinous, atrocious or cruel” and “committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner.”
Family said Brooker was the mother of two girls and, no matter what she went through, she never lost her smile.
https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/...-johns-county/
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