Mesa man arrested after body found stabbed through heart
Mesa police arrested a man on Wednesday after finding the body of a woman stabbed through the heart in his bedroom, according to court records.
Police claim that Stephen Anderson, 34, who has a history of mental health illness, told them he had stabbed the dead body of Rebecca Lambert, 33, to bring her back to life, court records showed.
Police first found Anderson holding a large silver knife in one hand and a hammer in the other, walking in the middle of a road in Mesa on Nov. 14, police said. According to court records, neighbors told police this went on for at least two hours.
When officers got to him, Anderson gave the knife to them, and they noticed blood on the blade, court records showed.
Anderson was taken to Community Bridges Inc., a mental health care facility, for a mental health evaluation, police said.
The next day, detectives found Lambert’s body with a stab wound going through her heart in Anderson’s house, police said.
According to the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner, the stab wound happened after Lambert died.
Anderson’s mother called police about the dead Lambert after he had phoned her from CBI, bidding her not to let his kids go into his room. Curious about the call, she went into his room and found the body, police said.
According to court records, Anderson said that on Nov. 12, he and Lambert had taken methamphetamine together in his house and that he had found her dead after taking a shower.
Anderson stayed in CBI until Wednesday, when officers arrested him on charges of prohibited possession of a weapon, disorderly conduct, failure to report a death and mutilation of a body, according to court records.
Anderson is in a Maricopa County jail with bail set at $150,000 and a court hearing date scheduled for Dec. 30.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arrest made after body of woman stabbed through heart in Mesa
