Arrest made after man found fatally stabbed in roadway near downtown Phoenix
Witnesses identified a man who was later arrested in the stabbing and killing of a man found dead in the roadway in near downtown Phoenix, court documents say.
Marvin Ray Estell, 42, was arrested in connection with the crime.
According to court documents, around 3 a.m. on July 8, a body was found by officials from the Medical Examiner's Office on West Jefferson Street near Ninth Avenue. When the body was found, multiple people were rummaging through the victim's belongings, scattering them in the area, the documents said.
A blood trail led from the body to a bus stop nearby, records said. The victim was later identified as Joshua Day. Medical examiners say that Day was stabbed four times.
Court documents state that witnesses heard yelling followed by a person screaming, “You stabbed me.” Witnesses reported seeing two people in a fight and then Day stumbling and falling onto the road.
Estell was then seen by witnesses rummaging through Day’s belongings and leaving the scene with what is believed to be Day’s backpack, police said.
Documents show that as police were speaking to the witnesses, Estell walked near the group. Two witnesses identified Estell as he was walking by and he was then approached by police.
Police said that Estell had a knife hidden in a towel in a front waistband, but no blood was found on the knife. Investigators then were told that Estell was known to live at the bus stop where the original blood trail was found at. Blood was found on his clothes, records indicate.
Later Estell was interviewed but refused to speak to investigators, police say. No information about how the two men knew each other or what led to the fight was released.
Estell is charged with one count of second-degree murder.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Marvin Ray Estell held in stabbing death of Joshua Day in Phoenix
