Police: Stabbing Death First Homicide of 2015

A man is accused of fatally stabbing his wife in a domestic dispute in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day. This is the county’s first homicide of 2015, according to Prince William County Police.

John Nathaniel Sherwood, 22, of no fixed address, is charged with murder and assault and battery. He is being held without bond.

The victim has been identified as his wife, Erica Renae Sherwood, 21, of Triangle.

According to police, Erica Sherwood was visiting a female acquaintance in the 15100 block of Concord Drive. The acquaintance woke up in the middle of the night to the victim’s screams. She allegedly found John Sherwood chasing his wife inside the home.

“During the encounter, the accused repeatedly stabbed the victim to the upper body,” according to police spokesperson Jonathan Perok. “At one point, the female acquaintance was also struck in the face by the accused.”

John Sherwood allegedly fled the scene and the acquaintance contacted police. Officers found the victim with multiple stab wounds in the upper bound and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

After fleeing the scene, John Sherwood allegedly crashed his car in the area of Concord Drive and Cloverdale Road. He then fled on foot and was spotted by a Virginia Stat Police trooper on Interstate 95, according to Perok.

Sherwood ran toward the rest stop and was eventually found in a wooded area on Neabsco Mills Road where he was taken into custody.