Justice was served

Staff

Published Thursday, September 25, 2008

We are pleased with the decision to drop all criminal charge against a Suffolk woman who stabbed and killed her boyfriend in self-defense in August.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Charlotte Purkey said the evidence shows that Tara Chevon Billups, 31, of the 1100 block of Cogic Square, was acting in self-defense Aug. 9 when she fatally stabbed Jonathan Lamont Diggs, 30, of Crittenden Road.

According to Purkey, evidence revealed that Diggs had been drinking heavily and suspected Billups was going to see another man when she left the house. He was “aggressive and violent” toward Billups, Purkey said, and tried to choke one of her friends.

He later attacked Billups and attempted to choke her, the evidence suggests. She grabbed a kitchen knife from a nearby table and made two quick stabbing gestures toward Diggs’ arm in an attempt to make him release his grip, Purkey said. The first stab hit his arm; the second, his chest. He died later that day.

It isn’t often that a homicide is truly self-defense, as many defendants might try to claim. However, when a case arises where the homicide is truly justifiable, it is best that justice is served, and the suspect serves no time for protecting their life and property. We commend the prosecutors and defense attorneys, and hope both the Billups and Diggs families now will be able to go on with their lives.

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