WALTON, Ky. — The Boone County Sheriff's Office concluded its investigation into a deadly January stabbing that left three people dead, including a 12-year-old and 3-year-old, and another person seriously injured.
The sheriff's office has ruled the stabbing as a murder-suicide.
According to a press release from police a man who was the only survivor of the incident, woke up on the evening of Jan. 9 to his girlfriend, 31-year-old Monique Pena, repeatedly stabbing him.
During the alleged attack, police said a neighbor told detectives they could hear him screaming from the apartment, "Don't do it, why are you doing this to the kids, don't kill me!"
Police said the man then ran from the apartment; he told investigators he believed he was Pena's only target and that he never feared Pena would harm the children.
He sustained stab wounds to his neck and upper body and was taken to the hospital.
Detectives said Pena killed Nikki Romero-Pena and Katie Ferrell-Pena before taking her own life. According to the news release, the Kentucky Office of the Medical Examiner listed in their final report that the children's cause of death was homicide, while Pena's cause of death was suicide.
The news release said Pena's family told investigators that she was experiencing extreme paranoia before the stabbings, which was not normal. Investigators said this paranoia caused Pena to believe that her family was attempting to harm her and her children. She also believed her family was attempting to take her children away from her, the release said.
During the same time, investigators said Pena abruptly cut her hair. Her hair was below her waist and she cut it to just above her ears. Investigators said she did this because she believed it would stop a positive drug test. Her toxicology report was negative, the release said.
Following the conclusion of the investigation, the release said the Boone County Commonwealth Attorney's Office is not prosecuting anyone for the incident at this time.
