’If God wanted you to live, he will let you live,’ Bradenton man tells woman as he stabs her, cops say
A 22-year-old Bradenton man is charged with attempted murder after stabbing a woman in her motel room seven times, including once in the neck, according to the Bradenton Police Department.
Police say Timberlen Terrell told the victim, “If God wanted you to live, he will let you live,” as he repeatedly stabbed her early Wednesday morning just before 4 a.m. inside the Florida Bound Motel at 2003 14th St. W.
Upon arriving to the motel, police noted, “The bed sheets on the bed were completely covered in the victim’s blood.”
The victim identified Terrell as her assailant.
According to the arrest affidavit, Terrell held the victim down after stabbing her the seventh time in an attempt to wait “for her to bleed out.”
The victim played dead and heard Terrell call for a taxi to take him to a convenience store in the 3300 block of Cortez Road West.
Police made contact with Terrell at around 9:30 a.m. a few blocks away.
Terrell was recording a live Facebook video at the time detectives located him.
In the lengthy video of Terrell talking about, “I hope they don’t kill me,” detectives arrive and order Terrell to the ground. Terrell cooperates and goes off camera, but he is heard telling the detectives that he has drugs on him.
Police found 142 grams of synthetic marijuana, 3.4 grams of marijuana, several pills and paraphernalia consistent with selling drugs.
In a second live Facebook video earlier that morning, Terrell talks about the crime, denying that he stabbed the woman after a man posted, “You didn’t have to stab her,” on his video feed. Terrell then challenges the man to a fight.
While being interviewed by detectives, Terrell initially denied all allegations, but then blamed the victim for attacking him first, telling police he acted in self defense, according to the arrest report.
Police say after Terrell admitted to stabbing the victim, he changed his clothes, cleaned himself up and left in the taxi. Terrell admitted he made no efforts to call first responders, instead getting on Facebook to record the videos.
Police say Terrell wanted the victim to know he was sorry for what he did, “but it should be noted that the defendant never asked the condition of the victim during the entire interaction with BPD.”
Terrell was booked into the Manatee County jail on an attempted murder while engaged in kidnapping charge, as well as multiple drug charges. Terrell was out on bond and awaiting trial on separate drug charges. That bond was revoked and he remains in custody without bond.