Indy woman arrested for involuntary manslaughter following homicide inside apartment building on Mass Ave
Nov 07, 2024
INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis woman is in jail after being accused of killing a 65-year-old man inside his apartment on Mass Ave.
The fatal stabbing took place on the 14th floor inside the Barton Tower. The 65-year-old victim was found dead in his blood-splattered apartment in late September.
Police believe Forest Hill Jr. had been stabbed repeatedly, with one wound puncturing his heart.
The violent death has been hard on Hill's family.
"I just work and go home and I think about my brother," said the victim's younger sister Sherrece Hill. "Now it seems like I don't have anybody."
This week, IMPD arrested 30-year-old Tationa Sims for involuntary manslaughter after video at the Barton Tower allegedly showed the suspect leave the victim's apartment and put what appeared to be a knife in her backpack.
FOX59/CBS4 broke the news to Sherrece that an arrest had been made.
She admitted she was thrilled the suspect was arrested, but still frustrated Sims is only being held for involuntary manslaughter.
Hill's family always suspected Sims was responsible for the death because the pair had been living together for a few weeks.
"From day one I knew. When I got the call someone did that to him. I already knew," said Sherrece.
According to the affidavit filed in the case, Sims claimed she acted in self-defense and told police she had to stab him because he posed a threat.
When asked to explain why she left the scene and never called police, Sims confessed she was surprised the victim died because she was "barely poking him."
That story doesn't make sense to Hill's sister.
"Do I think brother did anything to her? No. My brother helped her," said Sherrece.
Involuntary manslaughter carries a punishment of just one to six years in prison, which Sherrece insists would not be justice for her brother.
"This is not over because it's not fair. She killed him. She needs to be charged with murder," said Sherrece.
At the time of the homicide, Sims did have an active warrant for her arrest after being charged with battery for trying to stab a different man with a pair of scissors in March.
Jail records also show the suspect has been in and out of the Marion County jail at least 16 times in the last six years.
Sims is due in court for an initial hearing on Friday.
Ultimately it will be up to the Marion County prosecutor's office to file formal charges in the case.
In the meantime, the prosecutor's office requested that Sims be held on a higher-than-normal bond.