COLUMBUS – Jessica Harris and Alan Stewart had not been friends long but, sometime between Tuesday evening and early Friday morning, police say Stewart became angry enough with Harris to kill her, possibly by stabbing her death.
Harris, 24 (above), had not been seen since Tuesday when she went to visit friends, though her vehicle was located, and police asked for help from the public locating her Thursday.
After conducting interviews and searching for the victim throughout the day Thursday, detectives from the Homicide and Missing Persons Units asked patrol officers to respond to the 1100 block of Rand Avenue, on the Southeast Side, just before 2;25 a.m. Friday said Sgt. Christ Holzhauser of the Homicide Unit.
They found Harris, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Holzhauser says Harris and Stewart, who had recently become friends, got involved in an argument and Stewart grew upset. Although Harris was stabbed, Holzhauser says the exact cause of death had not been confirmed late Friday morning.
Stewart, 26, was injured in a separate incident and is in custody at an area hospital, charged with murder, Holzhauser said.
This is the 12th homicide of 2016 in Columbus.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 614-645-TIPS.