Police: Work issues prompted soldier to stab superior's wife

Spc. Jonathan Monk, 24, of 607 Brittany Place, Apt. D in Fayetteville, is charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and first-degree burglary. He was being held under a $100,000 bond.

Fayetteville police said Monk broke into the home of Sgt. Justin Dupree, at 6522 Baldoon Drive, sometime after midnight Sunday.

"We don't know exactly how he came into the home because the residents weren't aware of when he came into the home," said Sgt. Pam Brewington of the Fayetteville Police Department.

Monk grabbed a large knife from the kitchen and then lay in wait in another room, police said. When Tabitha Dupree, 21, walked into the room, they said, Monk attacked her, slashing and stabbing her at least 15 times.

Justin Dupree heard his wife scream, and he ran into the room and held Monk down until officers arrived, police said. Tabitha Dupree grabbed her 22-month-old daughter, Brook, and ran to another room, where she called 911.

"She was able to grab the child and secure her in another room," Brewington said.

Tabitha Dupree told a 911 dispatcher that she feared she would die before paramedics arrived.

"I was just stabbed, and I'm bleeding pretty badly," she said. "He got me good on the arm, and he cut my throat."

She underwent surgery Sunday at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center to close what police described as "severely deep lacerations to the upper body." She was listed in good condition at the hospital on Monday.

Investigators said Justin Dupree, 21, is Monk's supervisor in A Company, 782nd Brigade Support Battalion at Fort Bragg. They said Monk was upset about work-related issues, but they declined to provide details.

"My husband's been nothing but good to this man," Tabitha Dupree said during her 911 call.

Police reports also indicate that Monk also threatened to kill Dupree's daughter.

Brook suffered a bump on her head during the incident and was sent to the hospital as a precaution.

"She was not injured during the assault that we're aware of and had no contact with the suspect," Brewington said of the toddler.