Domestic Violence Cause Of Tulsa Homicide, Police Say

Tulsa Police received a call from St. Francis Hospital early Saturday morning explaining that they had a woman brought into the emergency room by her husband.  

The woman had been beaten with an object and died shortly after arriving, reports say. 

Police say the husband, 24-year-old Derrick Stith, told hospital personnel that his wife left their house and when she returned she was beaten and claimed to have been robbed.

Stith told officers that their residence was at a location on Rockford, but after police responded to the address, they found that Stith was lying.  

Police got a search warrant for Stith's real address, an apartment complex near 51st and Yale, and found evidence that the beating occurred inside the apartment. 

Police say neighbors at the apartment complex heard a disturbance around 3:00 am. Police believe this is when Stith beat the victim prior to taking her to the hospital.

Reports say Stith and the victim share a child and that he is from the Tulsa area, however the victim was from the Mckinney, Texas area and the family had recently moved to Tulsa.  

Stith is in jail on a first degree murder complaint.