Bridgeport Man Charged With Murder In Fatal Rooming House Stabbing: Police

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 52-year-old Bridgeport man has been charged in connection with the fatal stabbing of a woman at a Park Avenue rooming house earlier this month, according to police.

Johnnie Newkirk was arrested at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Bridgeport Police Headquarters by members of the department's Homicide Unit. Police said Newkirk was wanted on an active felony warrant.

Newkirk was charged with murder and tampering with evidence in the June 9 killing of Willesha Riddick, 41. Police said Newkirk and Riddick lived in separate rooms at the rooming house on Park Avenue.

His bond was set at $1.5 million. He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Bridgeport Superior Court.

Shortly after midnight on June 9, patrol officers responded to the 350 block of Park Avenue on a report of a woman who had been stabbed. Officers found Riddick on the first floor suffering from multiple stab wounds to her torso, police said.

Riddick was taken to St. Vincent's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead about an hour later.

According to police, homicide detectives interviewed witnesses during the early morning hours of June 9 while members of the Major Crimes Unit and Video Retrieval Unit collected evidence. Police said investigators recovered the knife believed to have been used in the stabbing.

Police said a judge signed an arrest warrant for Newkirk on Monday following an investigation by the Homicide Unit and a review by the state's attorney.