Argument turns deadly: Woman slain with hatchet

SHICKSHINNY, Pa. - State Police have charged a Shickshinny man of killing his ex-girlfriend with a hatchet.

John Stone, 58, was charged with a single count of criminal homicide on Sunday after police found the body of Catherine Tabit, 37, of Kingston, on Stone's kitchen floor.

Luzerne County District Attorney Jacqueline Musto Carroll said it appears an argument ensued between the two, with Tabit wanting to be taken home early and Stone not wanting to immediately take her home.

"Apparently from what the defendant has told us, she then slapped him and he responded and struck her, grabbed a hatchet, which was in the kitchen, and hit her several times in the head. As a result, Catherine Tabit lost her life," Musto Carroll said.

According to the criminal complaint:

In an interview with State Police in Shickshinny, Stone said he and Tabit had broken up in August but remained friends and continued "to talk and hang out on a regular basis." He told police Tabit called him late Saturday night and he picked her up at her home and drove her to his home.

After they talked, Tabit played cards on Stone's computer and he made her something to eat. When she told him she wanted to go home, he told her he was tired and would take her home later. But Tabit wanted to leave immediately and, as they argued, Tabit slapped Stone in the face. The two pushed and shoved each other, he told police.

Police said Stone then told them: "I hit her. I'm not sure with what. It was something lying on the floor. I never did anything like this before."

When asked about the weapon, Stone said he saw a hammer and a piece of pipe in the corner, that he didn't know what he struck Tabit with, but he struck her more than once in the head. He told police he then went to the Susquehanna River behind his house and contemplated jumping in. He remembered walking out of the house with the weapon but said he wasn't sure if he tossed it into the yard or into the river, police said.

Stone said he then went to the home of his neighbor, Dave Beach, and knocked on the door, police said.

Stone said he told Beach, "I think I killed my girlfriend," and Beach called 9-1-1, police said.

Musto Carroll said police got the call about 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

Investigators found a hatchet with what appeared to be blood and hair on it along a steep embankment on the river behind Stone's home, police said.

Court records show Stone had been charged with harassment several times. He pleaded guilty in February to possession of a controlled substance in the county court.