WESTOVER — Police found a 48-year-old Westover woman with a knife in her head while responding to a call on Tuesday night.
She was stabbed as the result of an argument with her daughter’s boyfriend, Zachary Nipper, of Baltimore, Westover Police Chief Rick Panico said. He is charged with malicious wounding.
The woman’s daughter, Kizzie Hardy, told The Dominion Post her mother was not stabbed and both she and Nipper told police it wasn’t a stabbing. According to Hardy, the kitchen knife hit her mother in the back of the head and became lodged when Nipper picked up a drying rack with dishes and threw it at her mother.
Hardy called The Dominion Post with her side of the story after seeing the article online on Wednesday.
Officers responded to 426 Dunkard Ave. just before 9 p.m. on Tuesday and found the victim with a knife sticking out of her head, Panico said. Officers wrapped the wound and called EMS, who transported the woman to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital. Panico said the woman was home Wednesday morning.
The victim’s daughter said she and Nipper smoked meth and the house was used as a “flop house,” Panico said. The investigation revealed Nipper lives in Marjorie Gardens and stayed at the victim’s apartment several times a week. It was not immediately clear if Panico was referring to Hardy.
“Nobody said me and Zack were doing meth together; I don’t even do drugs,” Hardy said.
She added that her cousin lived at the apartment and does meth, but she told him to leave when she found out.
Nipper was found on New Jersey Avenue, which is the same street as Dunkard Avenue, but further up, Panico explained. He was acting strange and residents were calling to report his behavior. Nipper resisted arrest and refused to identify himself to police.
As Nipper refused to identify himself, police did not know his identity until Wednesday, Panico said. Once he was identified, police were able to determine he was wanted for felonious assault in Maryland and was on probation.
A letter of abatement will likely be sent to Dalton Properties, which manages the property, since the victim’s daughter admitted to smoking meth there, Panico said. Eviction is likely. There have been several problems previously at 426 Dunkard Ave., and Panico said the landlord just doesn’t seem to care.
Hardy said her landlord called on Wednesday and told her she was being evicted. She said she’s only being evicted because the Westover Police Department gave false information and she plans to sue the department.
The Westover Police Department offers free background checks on potential tenants to landlords but not every landlord in the city takes advantage of the checks. Some landlords seem to prefer the quick cash, because despite neighbor complaints, they don’t live there, so it’s not their problem, Panico said.
Nipper is being held in North Central Regional Jail in lieu of $75,000 bond.
