Woman Arrested in Oceanside on Suspicion of Killing Cousin

Updated 12/6/12 5:52 p.m.

A Tennessee woman was in custody today in San Diego County on suspicion of murdering her cousin during a large family gathering in Oceanside.

Lashauna Shatrell Blanks, 24, allegedly stabbed 35-year-old Jerry Faulkner of Las Vegas in the chest outside his parents' condominium in the 400 block of Los Arbolitos Boulevard about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to police.

Medics took the victim to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Blanks was arrested at the scene, Lt. Leonard Mata said. She was booked into Las Colinas women's jail in Santee early this morning and was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday afternoon.

Among those attending the get-together where Faulkner was mortally wounded were four of his children, ages 1 to 14, and Blanks' two, who are 1 and 3. It was unclear if any of the youngsters witnessed the attack, Mata said.

Authorities did not disclose a suspected motive for the violence, but the victim's sister, Shondria Ferrand, told NBC 7 San Diego the suspect and victim had been in an ongoing dispute that turned physical at times.

Blanks, a Memphis resident, recently stayed with the victim and his fiancee at their residence, and disagreements between the two women had turned into bad blood between the cousins, she said.

A former nurse, Ferrand made a futile attempt to save her brother's life with CPR as he lay dying on a lawn in front of their parents' home.

"I tried to bring him back -- I tried," she told the news station, crying uncontrollably.

–City News Service