Detective: Lexington murder suspect admitted to fatal stabbing after arrest
The man accused of fatally stabbing 53-year-old Robert Wallace Jr. admitted to the killing after his arrest, according to testimony from a Lexington police detective Tuesday.
Don Marshall, 43, is facing charges of murder and tampering with physical evidence in relation to the deadly stabbing, according to court records. He was arrested in Georgetown less than one month after the stabbing.
After his arrest, Marshall confessed to stabbing Wallace, according to Detective Jeremy Adkins with the Lexington Police Department. He was extradited to the Fayette County Detention Center days later.
During the confession, Marshall told authorities he thought Wallace may have been armed with a knife, according to Adkins. Adkins didn’t say whether or not Wallace actually had a knife. Marshall said he went to Wallace’s for a sexual encounter and the stabbing happened when he no longer wanted to have that encounter.
On Oct. 14, at around 11:43 p.m., officers responded to the 1000 block of Bryan Avenue to assist the Lexington Fire Department with an individual that was unresponsive, according to Lexington police. When officers arrived, they located Wallace suffering from stab wounds. He was declared dead at the scene by the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.
Adkins said Marshall and Wallace met online on a dating app the day of the killing.
A Ring doorbell camera captured Marshall walking into Wallace’s apartment in the early morning hours of Oct. 14, according to Adkins. Marshall went into the apartment at approximately 1:45 a.m. and left at approximately 9:08 a.m. with different clothes on.
Marshall was the only person to enter the apartment during that time span and was alone with Wallace, according to court documents.
Adkins said police utilized several sources to identify Marshall from the Ring camera, including body camera footage from a separate incident one day after the stabbing. Marshall was wearing the same pair of shoes he wore to Wallace’s apartment on the body camera footage, according to Adkins.
Three bloody knives wrapped in a cloth were found near Wallace’s body, according to Adkins. Investigators determined Marshall attempted to clean up the scene with a mop and bleach before fleeing, according to court documents.
A hat belonging to Marshall was also found inside Wallace’s apartment in a crockpot, according to Adkins.
Marshall is lodged at the Fayette County jail on a $750,000 bond, according to jail records.
The killing officially pushed Lexington passed its previous homicide record of 37 from 2021. The homicide count for 2022 sits at 40.
