Instagram videos and knives recovered from a bedroom became key pieces of the homicide case, police say.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A 17-year-old Harrisburg girl was charged with murder after police said her 18-year-old boyfriend was fatally stabbed inside a Market Street home on April 6 after earlier videos showed her holding a knife near him.

Dalaysia Terrell-Brown is accused in the death of Tamar Shaw, who police said was found bleeding late that Monday night in the 1400 block of Market Street. The case moved quickly from an emergency call to a homicide investigation after Shaw died at a hospital and the Dauphin County Coroner’s Office ruled his death a homicide.

Officers were sent to the home at about 10:52 p.m. after dispatchers received a report that a man had been cut and was losing blood. Police said Terrell-Brown had called for an ambulance and did not ask for officers. When officers arrived, Shaw was sitting in the kitchen while someone held a bloody white towel to his chest. Investigators said he could not clearly explain what had happened, complained that he could not breathe and then fell to the floor before medics took him to a hospital.

Police said Shaw later died from a wound to the left side of his chest. The coroner’s findings became a central point in the case. According to the charging account described by investigators, the wound entered Shaw’s chest cavity and would have required significant force. That finding undercut the idea that the injury was a minor cut or an unexplained accident in bed, though police have not publicly said they know every movement that led to the wound.

Terrell-Brown told investigators that Shaw was her boyfriend and that the two had been in bed before he was hurt. She said Shaw asked for a small kitchen knife to cut papers used to roll marijuana. She first told police the knife may have been wrapped in blankets on the bed. She later said she was not sure where Shaw had put the knife and did not see the exact moment he was cut. She told officers she had been on the bed and sitting on top of Shaw when she moved the blankets and he yelled in pain.

Investigators said Terrell-Brown acknowledged that she and Shaw had argued earlier that day but said they were not arguing when he was injured. Police recovered three knives from her room, according to the local report on the affidavit. The recovery of those knives gave detectives physical evidence to compare with images and videos later brought to their attention. Authorities have not publicly released a full lab analysis or said whether fingerprints, blood testing or other forensic results have been completed.

The next morning, a Crime Stoppers tip pointed investigators toward Instagram videos police said Terrell-Brown had posted before the stabbing. One video allegedly showed a hand holding a knife and moving toward Shaw with a caption that included the phrase “cut that wrist up.” Another video allegedly showed Terrell-Brown pointing a knife at Shaw and saying, “Shaw ain’t gonna do s***,” followed by, “let this be a warning.” Police also described a third video in which a serrated knife was thrown toward Shaw’s neck while he was in bed.

Police said at least some knives shown in the videos appeared consistent with knives recovered from Terrell-Brown’s room. The posts became a key turn in the investigation because they gave police a record of earlier conduct involving a knife and the same victim. Investigators have not said whether the videos were recorded minutes, hours or longer before Shaw was wounded. They also have not said whether anyone else was inside the room when the videos were made.

Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said the investigation did not end with the arrest. “These investigations don’t end with an arrest,” Chardo said. “We continue working to determine exactly what happened.” His comments left open the possibility of more evidence review, more witness interviews and further forensic work as prosecutors prepare the case. The public record so far gives the broad timeline but does not answer every question about intent, the exact position of the knife or the final seconds before Shaw was hurt.

Terrell-Brown was arrested April 7 and charged with murder and possession of an instrument of crime. Court records also list a drug paraphernalia count. A judge denied bail, with the docket citing her as a threat to society. The docket lists the case as active and identifies the Harrisburg Police Department as the arresting agency. In Pennsylvania, a murder charge can leave a defendant held without bail while the case moves through early hearings and possible review in county court.

The case drew notice in the neighborhood because of the ages of both people involved and because the fatal injury happened inside a home, not in a public fight. One neighbor told local television that it was scary for violence like that to happen close to home and said, “They’re so young to even be in this type of situation.” The short remark captured the unease around a case involving a teenager charged with killing another young person she had been dating.

Shaw was identified in local reports as an 18-year-old from the area. Police have released few public details about his life beyond his name, age and relationship to Terrell-Brown. The known record focuses mainly on the emergency response, the defendant’s statements, the videos and the items seized from the room. Authorities have not publicly detailed funeral information, family statements or whether Shaw made any clear statement before he died.

The prosecution now moves from the emergency response and arrest into the slower court process, where the knives, videos, medical findings and witness statements will be tested as evidence in Shaw’s death.

Author note: Last updated April 30, 2026.