The crime scene — a house on Steadman Street — was surrounded by yellow tape. Photo by Mike Salmon.
Fairfax County Police officers and detectives were milling around a house in Mount Vernon on Monday evening, May 21, where a murder occurred earlier in the day.
According to police, a woman is facing murder charges this afternoon for fatally stabbing her uncle. Just before 11 a.m. that morning, officers were called to a home in the 8000 block of Steadman Street for an argument between Courtney Southern, 30, and his 22-year-old niece, Chardnay Southern. The two lived together in a home there with other family members.
According to the preliminary police investigation, Ms. Southern allegedly stabbed her uncle in the upper body. The murder weapon has been recovered. Mr. Southern was pronounced dead at the hospital. Ms. Southern was taken into custody shortly after the stabbing, the police said.
The house was located in an area off Frye Road near Fort Belvoir off-base housing, east of Richmond Highway.
A neighbor across the street who preferred not to give her name described the area as a quiet neighborhood. She has seen some activity at the house across the street that was surrounded by crime scene tape. “They seem very quiet, people do come in and out,” she said. As for police visits to the house, “this is the first time,” she said.