A Xenia man accused of stabbing his mother and sister to death had his first court appearance today.
Winston W. Sheppard was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault in Xenia Municipal Court.
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Bond was set at $1 million.
Winston reportedly stabbed his mother, Estella Sheppard, 84, and sister, Ralphael Sheppard, 57, after an argument broke out before dinner at their Hardacre Drive home Wednesday night.
Ralphael was pronounced dead at the scene and Estella died from injuries at Greene Memorial Hospital, according to Xenia police.
A witness reported the stabbings around 10 p.m. Wednesday.
“My friend stabbed his mom,” he told 911 dispatchers. “She’s laying here on the floor. She needs an ambulance...There’s blood everywhere.”
While the witness was on the phone with dispatchers, Winston also called 911.
“My mom and my sister got into an argument and I stabbed them,” he said.
Once in custody, Winston told detectives that there was “no excuse” for what he did, according to court documents.
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He also indicated that he cut his mother and sister with a knife and was swinging it at them.
The witness told police that everyone was getting ready to eat dinner when Winston began arguing with his mother, according to a police report.
During the argument, Winston reportedly grabbed a knife and stabbed Estella.
He continued arguing with Ralphael and stabbed her also.
The knife was found at the scene.
Winston had been living at the Hardacre Drive home with his mother, sister and father since August, according to court documents.
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His father reportedly died recently.
“It scares me,” said Marilyn Russell, a neighbor. “You think this is a nice, calm neighborhood. It’s not. It’s just a shame that it had to happen.”
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