A 19-year-old is in police custody after he allegedly stabbed his own father to death at their shared home.
On Wednesday, January 21, police were called to a neighborhood in Mobile, Alabama, where they found Mark Prince dead in the front yard. He had reportedly been stabbed multiple times, per CBS affiliate WKRG. It is unclear if the stabbing occurred inside or outside of the residence. Mark’s son, Samuel Prince, reportedly called his mother, who then called 911. When police arrived, the 19-year-old was still at the scene. He was later arrested in connection with his father’s death.
Prosecutors claim the altercation occurred in front of the teen’s grandmother. While authorities believe that Samuel premeditated the killing, the potential motive is still unclear as the investigation continues.
Following Samuel’s arrest, the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office asked for his bail to be $1 million. However, the judge presiding over the case set his bond at $750,000 on Friday, January 23. If he is released, he will be electronically monitored.
Samuel’s next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, January 28.
Neighbors were left baffled by the brutal slaying. One neighbor told reporters the father and son had once been like “two peas in a pod,” but admitted they hadn’t seen him since he was around 12 years old, as the teenager just “stayed in the house pretty much.”
Another person called Mark, 67, a “dear person” to them and their family.
“We love him; we’re definitely going to miss him,” the neighbor said at the time. “I wouldn’t have thought in a million years that this, today, would be happening the way that it has.”
While they didn’t witness the attack themselves, a third bystander said their husband had seen “a person” on the ground while gazing out of their window.
“He thought it was clothes at first, but by the time he realized it was a person, you know, the police had driven up, and they were all gathered around,” the neighbor explained. “And by that time, more police came and, oh my goodness, it was a circus out there.”
One woman, Lucy Thompson, who lived across the street from the Prince house, compared the situation to a “nightmare.”
Both Thompson and her son, Jawuane Orange, were in their home at the time of the stabbing.
“I didn’t hear a thing. When the first cop arrived, the siren wasn’t on. So, if you weren’t standing outside, you would never know anything was happening,” Orange told WKRG. “I was the first one outside. I saw the guy, he was laying there. You know, and I could tell that something had, you know, transpired… His shirt was pooled with blood. It was pretty gruesome.”
Thompson also described the victim as a “quiet, sensible” type of person who “kept to himself for the most part.”
“I mean, he would come over, visit with my husband, visit with us, you know. We would laugh, talk. We would have a bike or something needed to be fixed? Air in the tire? He fixed it. We borrowed tools,” she continued. “He’s going to be greatly missed.”
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