ST. PAUL (WCCO) — A St. Paul man has been charged in the New Year’s stabbing death of a 20-year-old man.
According to the criminal complaint, 22-year-old William Dudley Cummins was at a party on New Year’s Eve near Bay Street and 7th Street West in St. Paul.
Patrick Joseph Jaworski was also at that party, according to a number of witnesses, who said they found Jaworski hunched over and bleeding not long after midnight.
He was taken to United Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner said he sustained multiple stab wounds — one to the neck, one to the chest and another to his abdomen.
According to the charges, Cummins was seen taking his girlfriend’s phone and leaving the residence where the party was being held. Cummins’ girlfriend was seen asking Jaworski to help get it back.
A number of witnesses saw the two begin fighting. One witness said he saw Cummins stab Jaworski in the struggle, and another described the weapon as a pocket knife with a four-inch blade. One partygoer thought the fight was beacuse Cummins’ girlfriend was seen dancing with Jaworski earlier.
Witnesses said Cummins fled the scene on foot, came back to retrieve his vehicle, and drove off. Police found him at his mother’s home and arrested him.
Cummins told police he “did not think he stabbed him.” When informed that Jaworski was dead, the charges state he claimed, “It was self-defense. I didn’t think I stabbed him, I just pushed him back.”
Cummins has been charged with one felony count of second-degree murder.
