RIVERVIEW, FL — Keith Duke is facing murder charges after he slit his wife’s throat and then shot her multiple times in front of their three children.
On Thursday morning, 48-year-old Keith Dukes got into an argument with his 34-year-old wife, Michelle Dukes, inside their home while their three children were sitting in a car outside.
The argument between the couple, who have been separated for a year, turned violent when Duke grabbed a knife and slit his wife’s throat. She managed to run from the house, screaming for help.
Her daughters, ages 7, 13 and 14, saw their mother running away and got out of the car to join her. At the same time, a Waste Management truck driver was passing by and saw Michelle and her daughters toward him, screaming for help.
“I saw a cut going from one side of her neck to the other,” said the driver.
As he called 911, Michelle and her daughters ran into a neighbor’s house. But Keith wasn’t done, and he wasn’t letting a neighbor’s home protect Michelle from what he had in store for her next.
Keith broke into the neighbor’s home where Michelle had taken refuge then, in front of their three children, shot her several times. A witness wrestled the gun away from Keith, who then left the home.
Michelle was airlifted in critical condition to Tampa General Hospital, but would die overnight. Responding police would find Keith standing in the Alafia River.
“My life is over,” Keith Dukes told the deputies while explaining he did it because his wife threatened to take his children away. “I wish you could have just killed me. Just take me to jail.”
Keith Dukes has been charged with second degree murder and is currently being held in Hillsborough County Jail without bond. His children were unharmed physically, and are staying with a family member.
This article was written by Morbid for The Dreamin Demon - the Internet's self-appointed buzzkill.