Published: June 19, 2008 09:33 am         

Graford couple attack each other in domestic knife fight

By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

GRAFORD – Two people remained in critical condition and unconscious Wednesday after sustaining stab wounds on Tuesday, Palo Pinto County Sheriff Ira Mercer stated.

At 2 p.m. Tuesday, authorities were reportedly summoned to a residence in the 2500 block of State Highway 254, west of Graford, after two people called 911.

Mercer said the woman, identified as Melissa Stewart, 50, ran to her neighbor’s house and collapsed on the front porch where the neighbor called 911. At the same time, Stacey Ray Stewart reportedly called 911 and told the dispatcher he’d been stabbed.

Authorities responded to the scene where they discovered both Stewarts sustained knife wounds primarily to their torsos, Mercer said. “Big kitchen knives” were recovered at the scene inside a residence, he noted.

Possum Kingdom Lake East Volunteer Fire Department arrived at the scene to assist. Because of their injuries, both Stewarts were flown by air ambulance to hospitals in Fort Worth.

“We’re anxiously awaiting for one or the other to awaken to interview,” Mercer said Wednesday morning.

He added that there’s no reason to believe a third party was involved in the altercation as “both confirmed before they lost consciousness that it was between those two.”

A man who identified himself as Melissa Stewart’s son answered a phone call made to the Stewart residence. He said she is in critical but stable condition.