A Brookhaven man is in jail today after police arrested him Monday for allegedly killing his live-in girlfriend.
Officers responded to a disturbance at the couple’s residence at 1071⁄2 Cherry St. just before 2 a.m., where they found Tara Ashley Hudson, 32, unresponsive.
Police arrested Jeremy Cupstid, 28, on first-degree murder charges after a preliminary investigation and taking witnesses’ statements.
Hudson was taken to King’s Daughters Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 3:06 a.m.
Brookhaven Police Chief Bobby Bell said that during the preliminary investigation, officers were able to place Cupstid at the scene.
Bell would not comment on Hudson’s cause of death.
“We’re going to wait until the autopsy comes back, but you could tell a physical altercation had taken place,” he said.
The couple had a child together. The child was home during the apparent disturbance and has been placed in the custody of the Department of Human Resources, Bell said.
He said authorities have conducted interviews with people close to the couple and statements regarding Cupstid and Hudson’s relationship have been contrasting.
“It depends on who you talk to,” he said. “You might talk to one person who says yes (to problems) and you might talk to one person who says no.”
Bell said with domestic violence situations, victims tend to keep the details hidden.
Cupstid remained in Lincoln County jail this morning where his bond will be set later today.
