Wisconsin Man Accused of Fatally Stabbing His Wife 49 Times, Hiding Body in Car Trunk

Police in Wisconsin say a man has been arrested and charged with the death of his wife, a mother of 10 found dead in the trunk of her car with 49 stab wounds.

On April 14, Tomitka Stewart, whose children range in age from 3 to 22, was reported missing. Three days later, her body was found, according to court documents obtained by WITI.

Around 7 the night she disappeared, Tomitka met up with her husband, 41-year-old Jerrod Stewart, near a high school in Milwaukee, surveillance footage allegedly shows.

According to the court documents, Tomitka arrived in her red Dodge Avenger, and Jerrod arrived in a gray Mitsubishi Mirage. Jerrod could be seen getting out of the Mirage and into the Avenger’s passenger seat. One camera captured the sounds of an argument taking place inside the vehicle, but the exact words could not be deciphered.

A passenger in the Mirage then got out and into the driver’s seat of the Dodge and drove off, officials said. Tomitka, the original driver of the Dodge, never exited the vehicle.

Jerrod allegedly ended up at the home of a witness, identified as CW, where he spent the night before asking for a ride to his car, which was still parked near the high school, according to the documents.

CW followed Jerrod as he drove the Avenger to the 4500 block of N. 29th Street, then took him to his car, police said.

On April 17, detectives were dispatched to N. 29th Street, where they found the Avenger and Tomitka’s body in the trunk. An autopsy was conducted, which found 49 stab wounds to her head, torso, arms, hands and lower extremities as well as blunt force trauma to her head.

Detectives interviewed CW, who told them she had known Jerrod for 20 years, but didn’t know his wife. She claimed Jerrod did come over to her house on April 14 and got in bed with her, alleging he appeared a “little drunk.”

CW also confirmed that she followed Jerrod to park the Avenger and then took him to pick up his car, the documents show.

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Detectives spoke with Jerrod, who told some of the same story that CW did. However, he said he was “hanging out with” CW on April 14 before his wife came over to her house. Police showed Jerrod a photo of CW’s car, he said he didn’t recognize it.

Jerrod was arrested and charged with reckless homicide and bail jumping, officials said.

At the time of Tomitka’s murder, Jerrod was out on bond after previously being charged with assaulting and intimidating his wife — which he was ordered to have no contact with her. He was also wearing a GPS monitor because of that case.