Cops: Tenn. woman stabbed husband for "worshipping NASCAR race"
CHURCH HILL, Tenn. - A Church Hill woman who claimed to have the devil inside her allegedly crashed her car into a church and stabbed her husband in the chest Sunday for "worshipping the NASCAR race," reports CBS affiliate WJHL.
Stephanie Hamman, 23, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and felony vandalism after police say she drove her car through the front doors of Providence Church in Church Hill, Tenn., just before 10 p.m. Sunday.
Her husband, Steven Hamman, told authorities that his wife called him from the church and that he found her lying in front of the altar. Stephanie then stabbed her husband with a large kitchen knife, according to a police news release.
Before stabbing him, the suspect told her husband, "The devil is in me," according to the release.
WJHL reports that, after pulling the knife from his chest, Steven Hamman returned to his apartment - which is across the street from the church - and waited for police and emergency personnel to arrive. He was taken to the Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport and is in fair condition, according to the station.
The suspect was found not long after at HVMC, where she was read her rights by police. The news release states that Stephanie Hamman told officers she had decided to live for God, and that God told her not to smoke marijuana unless she was trying to unwind in the evening.
The suspect said she was mad at Steven Hamman for "worshipping the NASCAR race at Bristol," the release states. She asked if her husband was okay.
"God told me He wanted me in [the church], so I drove my car through the front doors," Stephanie told police. "I laid down in front of the altar until [Steven] got there.... I prayed I would not have to use [the knife] on him, but I did." She told police that the devil instructed her to bring the knife with her into the church.
Stephanie also told authorities of her love for marijuana. "I love to smoke it," she said, according to the release. "Sometimes when I do, I start seeing things that others don't. Isn't God good? He told me this would happen, and just look, I am okay."
WJHL reports that Providence Church Pastor Joel Trigg said he did not know Stephanie Hamman to be a visitor of the church. "One of the statements she apparently has made was that she attended this church, and she was baptized here on Sunday - which is incorrect. We've never known her to even visit here, and certainly didn't have a baptism here yesterday," he said.