Kim Bewlay cradled her baby as she tried to set the record straight about the death of her children's father.
John Coddington, 27, was stabbed to death at his home in Jewett City Tuesday and his brother, Jeffrey Savoy, is charged with manslaughter. Bewlay said Savoy was upset over Coddington being near his children.
"I didn't know he was there," she said, about taking the boys, 17-month-old Kymahj and 2- month-old Jahtel, to see their grandmother and aunt. Restraining orders on each other were to expire on Sept. 10.
Savoy took the children to his sister then returned without them. That's when the fight broke out. According to court papers, Coddington told Savoy, "Don't pull a knife on me. If you wanna fight use your hands. I'm your brother!"
After the stabbing, Coddington staggered down North Main Street to the Bestway store, where the manager called 911.
"Like I appreciate him for calling but don't make it seem like you did more than you did," said Bewlay, who said the manager didn't want the bleeding Carrington inside his store. "I said he's gonna collapse, and get me a chair. They told me get outta here. He collapsed in my arms at the door.
"Restraining orders or not, I'm not gonna let him bleed out," she said. But by the time the ambulance arrived, nothing could be done.
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Lisa Coddington, mother of both suspect and victim, did not go to court to see Savoy appear. She said at some point she will see him, and tell him, "If you wanted to go to jail you should have gone by yourself."
Savoy, 22, is held on $1 million bond and is on suicide watch. He has served time in prison for assault and violation of probation.
