A U.S. Army sergeant stationed at Fort Knox promised his wife he’d clean the couch—but didn’t. So, according to the FBI, she stabbed him.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court, the incident began with an argument over housework and ended with a knifing. When military police responded to a domestic dispute call on the Kentucky base last Sunday, they found a sergeant first class named in the complaint only as “V.G.” with a deep wound to the upper torso. V.G.’s wife, Chaniqua Boyd, was immediately detained for questioning. V.G., 46, was taken to the University of Louisville Trauma Center with a punctured lung.
With people quarantining at home to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, tensions between married couples have exploded. Women historically have shouldered more of the burden when it comes to chores, and the current global pandemic has brought the issue into clear focus. Although some reports have described couples as having more sex under lockdown, early statistics from China, where the quarantine began easing in March, in fact show a sharp rise in divorces.
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V.G., whom The Daily Beast has identified as Verol Gill III, told investigators that the fight with Boyd, 42, started “over him not cleaning the couch due to a missing part from the machine he rented.” After an apparent attempt to “deescalate the situation,” the two began spitting at each other. “Boyd then returned from the kitchen with a knife and said, ‘I wish you would spit at me again,’” the complaint says. “She then followed V.G. to the kitchen and the two continued to argue. Boyd punched V.G. in the face twice and then stabbed him in the chest.”
Following an interview with agents from the Army Criminal Investigative Division, Boyd was visited by the FBI. She said that she and V.G. had a history of domestic incidents, and both had been previously charged with assault. Boyd insisted that she did not intend to stab V.G., and in fact didn’t even know she had done so. She said she was slicing turkey when Boyd “came at her,” adding to an earlier claim that V.G. himself “lunged into the knife.”
After being stabbed, V.G. ran to a neighbor’s house for help but no one answered the door, according to the complaint. He then returned to the home he shared with Boyd to call his mother, but decided it would be better simply to call 911.
Boyd was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm. She was fitted with an ankle monitor, ordered by a judge to stay away from V.G., and released on a $25,000 unsecured bond. Boyd is living with her mother pending a court appearance on June 23, which is scheduled to be held via video conference.
Boyd’s court appointed lawyer, Aaron Dyke, told The Daily Beast that Boyd “vehemently denies the allegations and looks forward to presenting the full version of events at the appropriate time.” Dyke said Boyd had been abused by V.G., and was in the process of ending the relationship.
“It is unfortunate that given that history, law enforcement thought it necessary to subject her to criminal charges for this incident,” said Boyd.
Efforts to reach V.G. were unsuccessful. The Army declined to comment.
