It started as an argument between siblings, one a 27-year-old man and the other a 15-year-old girl, inside a Dunwoody apartment, according to police. Then it turned violent, and the teenager ran outside and knocked on neighbors’ doors for help.
But Keaira Henderson’s older brother overpowered her and was able to grab her, his arrest warrant states. Armed with a hunting-style knife, Gavin Denzell Henderson then allegedly grabbed his sister and stabbed her in the stomach.
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
A witness called 911 at 3:21 p.m. Monday to report the attack outside the Lacota Apartments on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, according to Sgt. Robert Parsons with Dunwoody police. But by the time officers arrived, Keaira was dead from more stab wounds than police could count.
Then at 3:29 p.m., another call was placed to 911, this time from a nearby store. Henderson was there, still holding the knife investigators believe he used to kill his sister.
“He had a knife, a big knife, a big size. He put it on the counter,” Shehab Faisal, a store employee, told Channel 2 Action News. “He just (asked) me, ‘Can you call the cops?’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘There’s been an accident.’ He (was) showing me blood on his hands and T-shirt.”
Henderson was arrested and taken into custody without incident and gave police a statement.
“Got into argument with his sister, he began to beat her up, she ran outside and began knocking on neighbor’s door,” Henderson’s arrest warrant states. “He grabbed his knife and ran after her, stabbed her in stomach and blacked out.”
Another sister allegedly witnessed the assault. She told police she saw her brother standing over Keaira and repeatedly striking her in the apartment breezeway, according to police.
Gavin Henderson was charged with murder, aggravated assault and cruelty to children in the first degree. He was being held without bond Tuesday at the DeKalb County jail. Henderson does not have an extensive criminal history, but served just over five months in the Fulton County jail from October 2010 until the following April for an aggravated assault charge, records showed.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Detective Jesus Maldonado at jesus.maldonado@dunwoody.ga.gov or at 678-382-6914.
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