Man stabbed to death by childhood friend

Walker County Sheriff's Office still investigating fatal stabbing

Stabbing tile
Stabbing tile

Walker County, Georgia, investigators were still waiting Monday morning to interview for a second time a man who stabbed his friend to death.

Sheriff Steve Wilson said the man, whose name the agency has not released, was still in a hospital Monday after undergoing surgery for a stab wound in his stomach. When asked about the incident last week, the man claimed self defense.

According to a news release from the department, officers responded to a reported stabbing in the 2000 block of Rogers Road in Rossville around 11 p.m. Friday. There they found 62-year-old Lebron Hankins dead. Paramedics rushed the other man to the hospital for surgery.

Wilson said Hankins and the other man were childhood friends but got into an argument while drinking Friday. The other man says Hankins attacked him first, and he stabbed him back. While the man has a stab wound in his stomach, Hankins suffered wounds in multiple spots.

Nobody else was at the home. Neighbors did not report hearing any fights that night.

"All we've got is a dead guy and another suspect-victim, and that's what we're trying to work through," Wilson said.

He added: "Over the next couple days, we'll be looking at the evidence. We'll be looking at the autopsy report and several other factors that may change the course of the investigation. Sometimes, deaths, there's no smoking gun. It takes a bit longer to sort through the evidence and the statements to come to a clear conclusion."

Investigators hope to conduct a follow-up interview with the man when he gets out of the hospital.

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.

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