Richmond VA woman indicted for murder in barroom stabbings www.privateofficer.com
Richmond VA May 25 2012 A Richmond woman now faces a murder charge in the stabbing of two sisters after a barroom disturbance erupted when people started laughing because a woman’s wig fell off while she was dancing.
The Richmond area’s multijurisdictional grand jury on Wednesday indicted Monita W. Cunningham, 48, of the 3800 block of Caulder Court on a charge of first-degree murder of Rakita McClenny, 29, of South Richmond.
Cunningham already had faced a charge of malicious wounding of McClenny’s sister, Aja McClenny, who was seriously wounded but survived.
The sisters were attacked early Sunday after they and some friends stopped by Ed’s Cafe in the 3000 block of Hull Street in South Richmond.
A witness to the double stabbing said this week that Cunningham had been taunting Rakita McClenny inside the bar and insinuating that McClenny was stuck up.
Ultimately, many of the bar’s patrons burst into laughter when a wig fell off the head of a woman Cunningham knows, the witness said. Angered by the laughter, Cunningham threw a beer in Rakita McClenny’s face, causing chaos inside the bar that spilled outside, according to the witness.
The witness said Aja McClenny was stabbed in the back outside the bar and that her sister chased the assailant and was stabbed fatally in the chest. Police found Rakita McClenny in the 300 block of nearby Swansboro Lane. She died at the scene.
Cunningham is expected to be arraigned Friday in Richmond Circuit Court.
