A 21-year-old, found with blood-covered hands holding scissors, is facing second degree murder charges for a brutal stabbing in a southwest Tallahassee apartment.
On September 18, the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) arrested a suspect in connection with the homicide that was reported a day earlier at the Oaks Apartments on 1619 Lake Avenue in the Providence neighborhood.
Upon arrival, police quickly determined that the 69-year-old victim had been stabbed multiple times. Less than 24 hours later, Zyion Morris was apprehended.
According to police, Morris entered the victim’s home in the early morning hours of September 18 and launched a vicious attack.
“When police arrived to conduct the homicide investigation, Morris was observed watching from a distance,” a TPD representative stated in an update to the case. “Detectives made contact with Morris, who was in possession of a pair of scissors and had dried blood on his hands. He was initially detained for questioning and later charged accordingly.”
The police mentioned that both physical evidence and eyewitness accounts pointed to Morris as the primary suspect.
People who saw the incident mentioned that the victim was open-hearted, often welcoming neighbors into his apartment, and he showed kindness by assisting those who were homeless or struggling financially, as per court records.
Morris mentioned in an interview that there was some hostility between him and the victim, but he didn’t provide further details, according to the court documents.
As per the court documents,”Morris would only make statements such as ‘He kept stepping on my toes”.
The police got in touch with Morris’ mother, who told them she had briefly dated the victim but they had broken up about a month or two ago, as stated in court records.
She also told investigators that her son had “been treated for what she referred to as ‘psychosis,’ and that he had been prescribed medications that he had refused to take.
