POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Polk County School employee was arrested Friday after she reportedly stabbed her boyfriend to death Thursday night.
Rosa Marie Hernandez-Rosa, 38, who is a cafeteria worker at Citrus Ridge: A Civics Academy, is being charged with second-degree homicide and tampering with evidence, the Haines City Police Department reports in a news release.
Officers arrived after 1 a.m. on Friday to find the 34-year-old boyfriend Joyssie Weayne Colon Candelaria "lying in a puddle of his own blood in a bathroom" at the Parkview Village apartment that they both shared, according to the police.
He was pronounced dead before 2 a.m.
It was reported by police that through an investigation, detectives found a single puncture wound to the left collarbone area. An autopsy revealed that he was stabbed and punctured through an artery, causing him to bleed out.
Hernandez initially claimed that she found her boyfriend lying face down before calling 911, the Haines City Police Department said.
She later explained to the police that during a fight with her boyfriend, she had a pair of scissors in her hand and stabbed him, the news release explains. She ran into her bedroom and locked the door.
The scissors used for the stabbing were not found.
Haines City Police Department says there was a child there at the time, but luckily they did not witness anything.
Hernandez was arrested and transported to the Polk County Jail, according to the news release.
There is a history of domestic violence between the couple, which includes Candelaria being arrested in 2018, authorities report. Hernandez said they have not slept in the same room for three months because of continuous fighting.
"Because of the thorough, diligent and outstanding work of our detectives, we were able to make an arrest in this case," Interim Haines City Police Chief Loyd Stewart said.
"If you're a victim of domestic violence, whether you're female or male, I implore you to seek the available resources and get out of these relationships."
