MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police are investigating a domestic violence incident that left a woman dead at a Whitehaven hotel early Saturday morning.
According to MPD, officers responded to a domestic call around 3:57 a.m., in the 1400 block of East Brooks Road. When officers arrived, they located an unresponsive woman with a knife wound. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
In the affidavit, it states the woman’s boyfriend, Derriontay Perry, told officers he woke up to the victim smothering him with a pillow. Perry then told officers he was able to “easily overpower” his girlfriend and then proceed to smother her with the pillow before stabbing her in the neck.
Memphis Police received another 911 call from Perry, according to the records. He told officers he walking down Millbranch and wanted to turn himself in.
Family members identified the victim to WREG-TV as Kristie Orange. One of her cousins, Reginald Sherrod, said she didn’t deserve this.
“She did not see that coming. I can just tell you that right now. She did not see that coming,” Sherrod said.
Sherrod added, “As far as this thing about her trying to stab him, that doesn’t sound true to me at all. It just sounds like he’s trying to cover up the trouble that he’s in.”
WREG-TV spoke to Sherrod over the phone. He said Orange was a young mother of four children all under the age of 10. He said Perry killed Orange in front of her children.
Sherrod said the two had been dating for about a year and said they had a rocky relationship.
“We all had conversations about him, and we tried to tell her things and let her know this is not the right relationship for her. She would not listen. Some people don’t listen when they’re so called in love,” Sherrod said.
Sherrod added, “He has no feelings for those kids. I don’t know why he was even around them. He had no feeling for her. I don’t know why he was around her.”
We looked into Perry’s criminal history and learned he’s had several run-ins with the law. In 2018, he was arrested for trying to rob a couple at gunpoint.
And in April, police said he was arrested and charged for driving under the influence with three children in the car. According to Sherrod, those three children were Orange’s.
