Alexis Stallman via the Jackson County State Attorney’s Office
A 41-year-old Illinois woman was arrested last week after she allegedly fatally stabbed her ex-husband, an employee with the state’s Department of Transportation, just hours after the two appeared in court for a child custody hearing.
Alexis Stallman was taken into custody and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated domestic battery in the death of Edward Stallman, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Deputies with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office responded at approximately 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 20 to reports of a crash at an Illinois Department of Transportation work zone located at the intersection of Highway 127 and Ava Road in Murphysboro, according to a report from Chicago CW affiliate WGN-TV.
When first responders arrived on the scene, they found the victim still sitting inside of his vehicle. The deputies reportedly saw that Edward Stallman appeared to have sustained a “puncture wound to his chest” that was not consistent with a vehicular crash injury.
Paramedics with the Jackson County Ambulance Service rushed Edward to a local hospital for treatment but he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the facility.
Investigators on the scene interviewed several witnesses who reportedly told them that a woman came to the IDOT work site at approximately 10:50 a.m. Once there, she and Edward reportedly got into some kind of verbal and physical altercation. The two reportedly separated and the woman and Edward each got back into their cars. The woman drove away from the site. Edward reportedly got back into his car and attempted to drive away but crashed.
“Originally, we thought that Mr. Stallman’s injuries were related to the traffic crash,” Jackson County State’s Attorney Joe Cervantez reportedly told Cape Girardeau CBS affiliate KFVS-TV. “We found later through investigation that there was a serious altercation prior to that crash.”
Cervantez reportedly told the station that investigators were not sure whether Edward sustained his injury while still in his car or outside at the worksite, but said there was no doubt that he was stabbed.
“And so there was some confusion about whether this was something that happened in the vehicle or this happened between 2 individuals at his job sight which was located here in Jackson county,” Cervantez reportedly said. “Eventually we had probable cause to believe that this was a homicide. And eventually on July 21 , the day after, we were able to file charges against Mrs. Stallman for first degree murder and aggravated domestic battery.”
Investigators reportedly identified the woman as Edward Stallman’s ex-wife Alexis Stallman. Deputies said they located Alexis at her home and took her into custody without incident.
According to county court records, Edward filed documents seeking to dissolve his marriage to Alexis in August 2020. Those records further show that earlier on the day of the alleged murder, both Alexis and Edward Stallman appeared for their final pre-trial conference concerning custody of their young child. A judge had scheduled a hearing in the matter to commence on July 28.
Stallman is currently being held in Jackson County Jail on $2 million bond. She is scheduled to appear in court again on Aug. 9.
[image via Jackson County State Attorney’s Office]