Woman claims attack before fatal stabbing of boyfriend

A woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend claimed that he slapped her in the face during an argument, according to Las Vegas police.

Rotesha Battle, 47, was arrested Dec. 8 after police responded to a call about a stabbing inside an apartment at Citrus Apartments on 60 N. Pecos Road, near East Charleston Boulevard. According to Battle’s arrest report, police found 47-year-old Darius Stewart, who Battle later identified as her boyfriend, inside a bedroom of the apartment.

Stewart was unresponsive and had multiple stab wounds when officers found him, police said. He died at the scene of multiple sharp force injuries, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.

Battle told detectives that her and Stewart had been dating for 20 years and lived together in the apartment with one other person. Battle said there were multiple instances of domestic battery between her and Stewart during their time together, according to police. Stewart was found guilty on one count of misdemeanor domestic battery in 2021, according to court records.

Battle told police that she and Stewart started arguing after she got home from work at about 10 p.m. on the night of the killing. She said Stewart was accusing her of cheating on him, and they argued in each other’s faces until their roommate got in between the two in an attempt to break up the argument. According to police, Battle said Stewart left the apartment after that and returned home after their roommate had left for work.

Battle told detectives Stewart locked the two of them in their bedroom when he got back home, then the two continued arguing. Battle said Stewart hit her face during the argument inside their bedroom. Police said Battle had no signs of injury on the side of her face she claims was struck by Stewart.

Battle said she then grabbed a knife that was left in the bedroom from a previous meal, held it over her head, closed her eyes and swung at Stewart, who she said was threatening her and egging her on. Battle told detectives that she didn’t expect the knife to go through his sweater, and she “just wanted to poke him and scare him off,” according to the arrest report.

Battle was released on bail with high-level electric monitoring on Wednesday and is due back in court on Dec. 28.

Contact Mark Credico at mcredico@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarkCredicoII.