WESTLAND, Mich. – A Westland father is dealing with two tragedies after his wife's death and accusations his son is the who stabbed her to death.
Justin Jay Paul is charged with premeditated first-degree murder. His mother, 50-year-old Jeannette Lee Paul, was found stabbed to death Wednesday morning at the family's home in the 6100 block of North Walton Street.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said Justin Paul stabbed his mother in the throat before he fled the home.
He was arrested Wednesday and was arraigned Friday morning in 18th District Court. Paul is being held without bond. He scheduled to be back in court Jan. 4 for a probable cause conference.
"I finally fell asleep for a few minutes," said Vern Paul, Justin Paul's father and Jeannette Paul's husband.
Paul said his son has attention-deficit disorder and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. But he said there were no problems between Justin and his mother.
"He a snap thing," Paul said. "Everything was good. They were going shopping. I'm mad for what he did, yeah, but I also want to talk to him. I need to know what happened. Why?"
What happened
It was about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday when a neighbor alerted Vern Paul that something could be wrong. Last he knew, his son was at a friend's house. Paul called his mother to check on his wife, who wasn't answering the phone.
"He didn't answer his phone, she didn't answer her phone," Vern said. "That's not normal."
Westland police were called to a home on Walton Street just off Ford Road. It was very clear officers were dealing with a murder when they arrived. Investigators found the woman stabbed multiple times inside.
Officers began going door-to-door in search of the woman's adult son. Somehow he ended up in Livonia. Livonia police officers spotted him near Joy Road and Donna Street. Police said there was some sort of altercation between the suspect and officers that led to the man being shot in the leg by police.
"There was a foot pursuit, and a weapon was involved, and there were shots fired," said Sgt. Robert Wilkie of the Westland Police Department.
Police said a knife was found in Paul's front pants pocket.
Police would not say if officers had previous run-ins with the man and his mother.