Winter Haven police make arrest in July 26 fatal stabbing of woman at construction site
Winter Haven police have made an arrest in the fatal July 26 stabbing of a 26-year-old woman at a construction site on 6th Street Northwest.
In a news release Wednesday morning, police said Kenneth Lawrence Foresyth Jr., 21, was arrested Tuesday and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Angel Snell, 26, of Winter Haven. Foresyth, whom police said was homeless, also faces charges of making a false statement to law enforcement involving a capital felony and destroying or tampering with evidence.
The stabbing happened July 26 outside a shipping container on construction property behind the old Banyon Beach motel at 1630 U.S. 17 N. Police say Snell approached Foresyth and a physical altercation began.
Police said paperwork and items belonging to Foresyth were found in the shipping container, and detectives determined he worked at Longhorn Steakhouse on First Street. A manager at the restaurant confirmed Foresyth was scheduled to work on the date and time of the stabbing.
Police said video from several sites in the area captured a man matching Foresyth's description walking north behind a mosque near the construction site at 10:45 p.m., then running south past the mosque at 10:47 p.m. The 911 call reporting the stabbing was received at 10:52 p.m.
On Tuesday, detectives interviewed Foresyth, asking about discrepancies in the work schedule and the video footage. According to the news release, detectives showed him images from the video footage, and Foresyth confirmed he was the man in the images.
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According to detectives, Foresyth said he got off early on July 26 and walked through the city. When asked about the video of him running, Foresyth said he got a pebble in his shoe, causing him to run, the release said.
As the interview continued, police said, they found that Foresyth had been inside the shipping container and had started a small fire when Snell approached and the fight started, ending with Foresyth stabbing her multiple times. Detectives said Foresyth fled the area on foot and disposed of the knife and clothes he was wearing.
A witness, who was with Snell and a short distance away, heard the fight with Snell yelling that she had been stabbed and he ran to her aid. He carried her to Inman Park, where someone let him use their phone to call police.