Ex-boyfriend's stabbing attack kills Nashville woman, teenage son and wounds daughter, police say

UPDATE: Jermaine Agee pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder in October 2020 and was sentenced to life in prison.

In what authorities are calling a horrendous act of domestic violence, Metro Nashville police say a man who had been wanted on an assault charge, fatally stabbed his ex-girlfriend, her teenage son and critically injured her daughter overnight at their Antioch home.

Jermaine Agee, 38, is facing murder charges in the connection with the stabbings of 38-year-old Mayra Garcia and her 13-year-old son Jayden Taylor in the 5700 block of Sonoma Trace just east of Old Hickory Boulevard.

Agee was booked into the Davidson county jail on Monday afternoon after police said he refused to cooperate with detectives. He was ordered held without bond on two counts of murder and one of attempted murder.

Garcia's 16-year-old daughter, Alexis Taylor, was also stabbed and remained in critical condition at a hospital on Monday.

Garcia's 8-year-old daughter, Kaytlin, survived the attack and was not injured.

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The stabbing was reported around 2 a.m. Police had been searching for Agee through the early morning and took him into custody before 9 a.m. after police spotted him hiding behind a trash can near the Ashley HomeStore Outlet on Hickory Hollow Parkway.

"From what we know at this point through the investigation Agee forced entry through the back door of the home sometime before 2 a.m., went to the kitchen counter, retrieved a butcher-sized knife and we think then went from bedroom to bedroom," police spokesman Don Aaron said.

The 13-year-old son never made it out of the bedroom. He was transported to a hospital with critical injuries where he died.

"After going from bedroom to bedroom, Agee had the victims come sit on the couch and said someone was going to die," Aaron said. "There was then some type of tussle involving the 16-year-old daughter, and the mother intervened. It's likely at that point additional stab wounds took place."

The victims then fled the residence.

Garcia ran across the street and collapsed on a neighbor's property and was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she died, Aaron said.

Her 16-year-old daughter ran up the street and a neighbor called 911. The 8-year old daughter also came out and was taken in by a neighbor, Aaron said.

Agee then stole the victim's Volkswagen Jetta which was found just before sunrise in a motel parking lot at 111 Bell Road At the time, Agee was nowhere to be found.

At mid morning, Aaron said, there was a suspicious person call at the Burger King on Hickory Hollow regarding a person with blood on him. Officers surrounded the area, Aaron said, and talked to homeless people in the area who said they knew him and that he'd been staying in the area.

Shortly after, an officer spotted him crouched behind a trash can by the furniture store.

He suffered a hand injuries apparently caused by his forced entry to the rear of the home, Aaron said and was taken to Nashville General Hospital to be treated for the wounds. He was slated to be taken to the South Precinct to be interviewed and then to jail.

At the time of the attack, Agee of was wanted on a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from an incident on Sept. 30.

On Oct 1, Garcia reported that the night before the two were involved in an altercation at her home in which he assaulted her.

Garcia sought an order of protection but at that point, police said, Agee's whereabouts were not known.

Agee is a felon who served nearly three years from 2015 to 2018 for robbery and theft convictions in Alabama, police said. He was released from custody in June 2018.

Aaron confirmed Garcia was previously married to a former Metro police officer who resigned and now lives out of state.

A neighborhood in shock

Mid-Monday morning, yellow crime-scene tape surrounded the two-story home with brick and beige siding in an upper class neighborhood with well manicured front lawns.

Neighbors could be see standing inside their homes staring out their front doors, one woman wearing pajamas held her hand over their mouth apparently in shock.

Alicia McKnight, who lives next door to the home where the attack took place, said the stabbings come as a shock to her otherwise normally peaceful neighborhood.

McKnight, who lives with her husband and their two children — who often played with Garcia's children, said she heard commotion outside during the early morning hours, looked outside and saw Garcia's 8-year-old daughter attempting to cross the street.

McKnight said she called out to her and motioned for her to come to her home.

"She said he was swinging knives," McKnight recalled as she stood outside her home Monday morning with tears welling up in her eyes. "She said 'I'm scared for my life and I just want to be safe.' She said she tried to wake her brother up but she knew he was dead."

McKnight said Garcia was a hard-working single mother, who worked as a data analyst.

Her children, she said, were her life.

Metro Schools spokeswoman Dawn Rutledge said the children are enrolled in the district.

"The district is on fall break this week, but plans to have grief counselors available when students return from the break," Rutledge said.

McKnight said her neighbor had been separated from Agee for some time but she'd often see him walking around the house.

"I've never had good feelings about him," McKnight said of Agee. "He's a terrible person to do this. What a tragedy."

Aaron noted that October is national Domestic Violence Awareness month and said the city offers help to domestic violence victims including shelters, councilors and police support.

If you know or suspect that a family member, friend or work colleague is experiencing domestic violence call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.

Juan Buitrago contributed to this report. Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville stabbing: Mayra Garcia ID as victim in Antioch attack