Kriti Mehrotra
When teenagers Paiten Sullivan and Felipe Negron Jr. were found barely breathing near a bar on January 28, 2018, it left the entire state of Iowa baffled to the core. After all, as explored in A&E’s ‘Interrogation Raw: Stabbed in the Heart,’ they had been so heinously attacked that there was blood spatter all over the scene. No one could have ever imagined the two youngsters would be found in such a way, but thanks to a dying declaration and a confession, officials were soon able to apprehend the assailant.
Paiten Sullivan and Felipe Negron Jr. Were Brutally Stabbed in the Latter’s Car
It was on February 22, 2000, in Sioux City, Iowa, when Patien Sullivan was born to Stevie Hollingshead and Shannon Sullivan. She was reportedly one of six children, with her siblings being Makayla, Richard, Charli, Kelton, and Nevaeh. She graduated from East High School mid-term in 2017 and was enjoying life to the best of her abilities by early 2018. The almost 18-year-old was even a member of the Concordia Lutheran Church, all the while spending most of her free time having fun with friends as well as supporting the Miami Dolphins in football.
As for Felipe Negron Jr., he was born on May 2, 1999, in Puerto Rico to Edwina Rodriguez and Felipe Negron Sr. as one of their three children. He had actually immigrated to the US at the age of 6 alongside his family, including sister Karynna and brother Karter, with them settling down in Sioux City, Iowa. The 18-year-old music enthusiast was happily employed at Hy-Vee while attending East High School, unaware that everything would change in early 2018.
Paiten and Felipe were very close friends, so much so that the latter’s parents have since asserted that he saw her as a second sister. It was thus no surprise that they chose to hang out together on the evening of January 28, 2018, but neither returned home. Local authorities responded to a 911 call late in the evening, with the caller screaming he had been stabbed before suddenly going quiet. When officials arrived at the scene, they found Patien barely breathing in Felipe’s car, while he was lying on the ground a few feet away. They were both rushed to a nearby hospital, but it was already too late as they passed away from their injuries. Their autopsy reports later confirmed that Paiten had been stabbed 43 times, whereas Felipe was stabbed 17 times.
Paiten Sullivan and Felipe Negron Were Killed in a Fit of Rage
Officials knew the moment they arrived at the scene that a crime of passion had occurred because of how bloody it was and how close the attacker had to be. They also learned from witnesses near the parking lot of the bar that they had heard someone scream “Stop!” several times before everything went quiet. Deputies also noticed a trail of blood moving away from where the two victims were found, making them certain the attacker had also injured themselves. However, the trail went cold a while later.
That’s when an official who had accompanied the victims to the hospital reported that Felipe had made a dying declaration of “Tran Walker.” They didn’t have any details of who he was, their connection to the duo, or the story behind why the 18-year-old said his name, but they knew it had to be important. They thus began looking into him and learned that he was Paiten’s ex-boyfriend – they had broken up just recently, earlier in January – and he was reportedly very devastated as well as angered by it.
Then, detectives suddenly got a breakthrough when they received a call from an employee of a local grocery store to report that there was a strange young man in the restroom. According to the caller, he had an injured hand, was bleeding, and had locked himself inside, which immediately made officers realize it could be Tran. Deputies rushed there and found him – he was indeed bleeding because the pinkie finger of his right hand was nearly severed off. He was taken to the hospital too, where medical professionals made it clear his injury was consistent with a knife slipping from his hand. He was taken to the police station only after he was treated, all of which happened within a couple of hours of the incident.
Tran Walker is Currently Serving a Life Term in State Prison
When questioned, Tran initially claimed not to remember anything. He told officials that while he had indeed met up with Paiten and Felipe on the fateful night, it was to get closure. He added that Felipe was in the front while he and his ex were talking in the back of the parking lot of a Walmart. That’s when he stated that his ex told him she wanted to move on, which brought their discussion to an end. They then started driving away, during which the friends started talking and laughing, and that’s when he said he went blank. He claimed that all he suddenly heard after they had neared another parking lot was Paiten and Walker screaming, “Stop.”
The detectives continued pressing him, though, talking about the incident and his perspective in third person, which pushed him to confess. He admitted that while he doesn’t remember who he stabbed first, Felipe did try to defend Paiten and intervene. As for the murder weapon, he revealed that he had dropped it while running away from the scene before offering to show them where. He was thus charged with two counts of first-degree murder, of which he was convicted on August 1, 2019, following a bench trial. He was consequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He later appealed the verdict, but it was upheld. Therefore, today, at the age of 26, he is still incarcerated at the Iowa State Penitentiary, where he is expected to remain for the rest of his natural life.
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