Two women told police a kitchen dispute escalated before a man was found wounded on the floor.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Two women inside a north Minneapolis home gave police the first account of a fatal April 30 stabbing that led prosecutors to charge Javontae Deshawn Simms with second-degree murder in his brother’s death.
The witnesses are central to the Hennepin County case because they placed Simms, 23, in the kitchen with his brother before and after the knife wound. Court records say the argument began over cleaning up after food was made. Within minutes, officers were working to save the victim on the kitchen floor, and Simms was found in the basement under a stairway panel.
The first witness was the victim’s girlfriend, who called 911 after the stabbing. She told police that she lived at the home with the victim and Simms. According to the complaint, she and the victim had made food in the kitchen and were eating when Simms came in and became upset that his brother had not cleaned the room or picked up after himself. The dispute did not begin with a report of threats to anyone else in the home. It began as a complaint about the kitchen, then moved quickly from words to a knife, according to the witness account given to investigators.
The second woman in the home told police she heard Simms warn his brother that the cleaning issue would become a problem between them. Her statement echoed the girlfriend’s account that Simms was upset over the condition of the kitchen. The complaint says Simms left the kitchen and later returned with a knife. He pushed his brother and called him an insult, according to the police account. The brothers then had a physical altercation. The witnesses told investigators that after the struggle, Simms was standing in the kitchen with a bloody knife. The victim, holding his chest, said that Simms had stabbed him.
The girlfriend tried to slow the bleeding while waiting for help. Police said she held a cloth to a wound on the left side of the victim’s chest, near or under his armpit. Officers arrived shortly after 3 a.m. at the home on the 3000 block of Girard Avenue North and found the victim unconscious. They began lifesaving measures until paramedics arrived. The victim was pronounced dead at 3:32 a.m. Authorities did not publicly release his name or age in the first reports. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner was expected to make the formal ruling on the cause and manner of death.
The witness statements also helped officers locate Simms inside the house. Police said he had gone downstairs after the stabbing. When officers searched the basement, they found him beneath the stairs. Court records say a wooden panel had been positioned to create a hidden area or blind spot. Simms was arrested there. Investigators also recovered a knife from the kitchen area. The complaint does not describe a long search outside the home, a chase through the neighborhood or an attempt to leave in a vehicle. Instead, the arrest took place inside the same house where the stabbing happened.
After his arrest, Simms spoke with police. Investigators said he first claimed he did not remember much and said he blacked out. He later said the victim came at him with a knife and was accidentally stabbed during a struggle, according to the complaint. Police said his account changed again when he admitted grabbing the knife first. In one version, Simms said he meant to “fake” stab his brother and that his brother charged at him and ran into the knife. In another account described by investigators, he said the victim was not armed. Those statements may become a key issue as prosecutors and defense attorneys argue what Simms intended.
Hennepin County prosecutors charged Simms with two counts of second-degree murder. The first count alleges intentional murder without premeditation. The second alleges murder without intent while committing a felony. Both are serious felony counts, and a conviction for second-degree murder can bring up to 40 years in prison. Simms was held on $1 million bail after the charge was filed May 1. The court process was expected to begin with an initial appearance on May 4, followed by hearings to address counsel, conditions of release, evidence and the schedule for the case.
The location of the stabbing adds a clear frame to the prosecution narrative. The home sits in north Minneapolis near North Girard and 30th avenues, and the complaint describes the killing as occurring in the kitchen, not in a public space or on a street. The people closest to the event were members of the household or guests inside it. That makes the case depend less on outside surveillance or neighborhood witnesses and more on statements from the two women, physical evidence recovered inside the home and the defendant’s interview. Investigators have not said whether body camera video, forensic testing or autopsy findings will add more detail.
The victim’s girlfriend and the second woman gave police accounts that, as described in the complaint, align on the main points: an argument over cleaning, Simms leaving and returning with a knife, a struggle, a bloody knife and the victim’s statement that he had been stabbed. The defense has not yet had its full chance in court to test those accounts. The witnesses could be questioned about where they were standing, what they could see, what they heard and how quickly the fight unfolded. For prosecutors, their statements give the case a direct chain from argument to injury to arrest.
The case stood in its early stage as of the latest reports, with Simms jailed and the victim’s public identity still withheld. The next milestones are expected in Hennepin County District Court, where witness statements, forensic reports and Simms’ police interview may shape the path toward a plea, dismissal, settlement or trial.
Author note: Last updated May 24, 2026.