Relatives said Alonzo McDaniel III had long refused to fight back.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A 65-year-old St. Louis woman is charged with murder after police said she stabbed her husband in the chest inside their north city home, ending what relatives described as years of threats and abuse.

Police said officers were called around 10:15 p.m. May 23 to a home in the 3900 block of East Lexington Avenue for a reported stabbing. They found Alonzo McDaniel III just inside the residence, barely breathing, with a chest wound. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. His wife, Evelyn McDaniel, 65, stayed at the scene and later admitted to stabbing him during police questioning, authorities said.

The case has drawn attention because Alonzo McDaniel’s relatives and friends described a long pattern inside the marriage before the fatal wound. They said he was 6 feet 3 inches tall, she was about 4 feet 7 inches tall, and he would not strike her even when she allegedly threatened or hurt him. Tina-Marie McDaniel, his sister, said the size difference did not protect him because he made a choice not to answer violence with violence. “He would not hit her. He would not fight her,” she said. “My brother is so gentle.”

The final hours began away from the home, according to Tina-Marie McDaniel, who said her brother had spent the day with a close friend and had been working toward starting a new business. During that time, she said, Evelyn McDaniel kept calling him. Family members said Evelyn McDaniel appeared upset that day and they believed she had been drinking, though police have not publicly said whether alcohol was confirmed by testing. When the couple returned home, Tina-Marie McDaniel said, the argument grew. She said she was later told that Evelyn McDaniel began trying to stab him and that Alonzo McDaniel asked what she was doing and told her to stop.

One of Alonzo McDaniel’s close friends, James Moton, said he was on the phone with him when the confrontation turned violent. Moton said he heard yelling, then heard Alonzo McDaniel cry out that he had been stabbed. “All of a sudden I heard an altercation,” Moton said. “I heard him scream, ‘Ah, why you just stabbed me?! You stabbed me!’” Moton said the call then went quiet. He described the moment as hearing a man he loved like a brother take his last breaths. Police records cited in reports say Evelyn McDaniel admitted stabbing Alonzo McDaniel in the chest.

Officers found Alonzo McDaniel inside the home after the emergency call and began the criminal investigation at the East Lexington Avenue address. Evelyn McDaniel remained there and was detained for questioning. Police have not released a full account of what both spouses said before the stabbing, and they have not publicly detailed whether a weapon was recovered, where in the home the knife was found or who called 911. The available police account centers on the chest wound, the hospital death and Evelyn McDaniel’s alleged admission. Investigators also have statements from relatives and friends who said the trouble between the couple had been building long before the night of the killing.

Family members said Alonzo McDaniel was known in the neighborhood as a protector, provider and steady presence. They said he worked as a truck driver and spent much of his free time helping other people. Relatives and neighbors said he mowed lawns without asking for money, checked on older residents after storms, bought groceries for people who needed help and mentored younger people on the block. Tina-Marie McDaniel said her brother wanted people around him to be safe and cared for. “The whole block loved him,” she said. “He was caring. He was supportive. He would come and do anything for anybody.”

Those memories have become part of the case because relatives say they explain why the killing stunned people who knew him. They said Alonzo McDaniel had the physical strength to defend himself but chose restraint. Tina-Marie McDaniel said she believed Evelyn McDaniel used that restraint against him. She said family members had urged him to leave before the violence became fatal. “We tried to tell him to leave because we knew something was gonna happen,” she said. “She’s been abusive. He’s been tolerating her for a very long time. She’s threatened him. She said what she was gonna do, and she finally acted on it.”

The charges were filed after the death over the Memorial Day weekend. Evelyn McDaniel faces second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Second-degree murder in Missouri generally alleges a knowing killing or a killing tied to certain serious felonies, while armed criminal action addresses the alleged use of a dangerous instrument in the crime. The filing marks the start of the court process, not a finding of guilt. A judge will review bond, scheduling and future hearings as prosecutors move the case forward. At the time of the initial reports, she was being held without bond, and no first court date had been set.

The killing also left relatives speaking publicly about a kind of domestic violence they said is often hidden when the victim is a man. Tina-Marie McDaniel said her brother’s death should not be reduced to the brief moment of the stabbing. She described years of fear, calls, threats and emotional strain. She said her brother tried to keep peace in the home while still caring for others outside it. Moton said the silence after the scream on the phone has stayed with him. For the family, the legal case is now tied to the task of explaining who Alonzo McDaniel was before the last call and the last wound.

Tina-Marie McDaniel said she wants the justice system to treat the case with the weight she believes it deserves. She said the family is relying on prosecutors and the court to hold Evelyn McDaniel accountable if the allegations are proven. For now, the police account says officers found a dying man inside his home, and the charging record says his wife admitted the stabbing. The unanswered questions include the full sequence of the argument, any earlier police contact at the home and what evidence prosecutors will present in court.

Currently, Evelyn McDaniel remains accused, not convicted, as the case moves through St. Louis courts. Alonzo McDaniel’s relatives are preparing for the next hearing while remembering him as a man who helped neighbors, loved his family and, they said, refused to answer cruelty with force.

Author note: Last updated Sunday, June 21, 2026.