A 41-year-old Wisconsin man has been charged with the death of his wife, a mother of 10 found dead in the trunk of her car with 49 stab wounds earlier this month.
Tomitka Stewart, whose children range in age from 3 to 22, was reported missing on April 14, and her body was found three days later, WITI reported.
Jerrod Stewart, who was out on bond after being previously charged with assaulting and intimidating his wife — and ordered to have no contact with her — has been charged with reckless homicide in Tomitka Stewart’s death and bail jumping. He was also wearing a GPS monitor because of that case.
A complaint filed in the case details Jerrod Stewart’s movements on the day his wife disappeared, her car’s movements, and surveillance camera videos that captured some of the movements.
According to the complaint, the Stewarts apparently met up near North Division High School shortly after 7 p.m. on April 14. Tomitka arrived in her red Dodge Avenger, and Jerrod arrived a few minutes later in a grey Mitsubishi Mirage. He is seen getting out of the Mirage and into the Avenger’s passenger seat. One video captured the sounds of an argument inside the vehicle, although the exact words could not be deciphered.
728124749 Criminal Complaint for Jerrod Stewart by kc wildmoon on Scribd
Shortly after 8 p.m., the Mitsubishi driver gets out of the Avenger and walks around to the driver’s side of the Avenger, gets in, and drives away.
Jerrod Stewart eventually winds up at the home of a witness, identified as CW, where he spends the night before asking for a ride to his car, which is still parked near the high school. She follows him as he drives the Avenger to the 4500 block of N. 29th Street, then takes him to his car.
Milwaukee detectives were dispatched to N. 29th Street on April 17, where they found the Avenger with Tomitka Stewart’s body in the trunk. An autopsy found 49 stab wounds to her head, torso, arms, hands, and lower extremities as well as blunt force trauma to her head.
When detectives interviewed CW, she told them she’d known Jerrod Stewart for 20 years but didn’t know his wife. She confirmed he’d come over on April 14 and gotten in bed with her, saying he appeared “a little drunk.” She also confirmed driving following him to park the Avenger and then taking him to pick up his car.
Stewart, interviewed in Minnesota, told detectives some of the same story, but said that he had been “hanging out with” CW on April 14 before his wife came over to her house. When detectives showed Stewart a picture of CW’s car, he said he didn’t recognize it.
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[Featured image: Tomitka Stewart and Jerrod Stewart/Milwaukee Police Department]