PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — A Palatka man has been found guilty of fatally stabbing a 16-year-old girl over a hundred times in March 2020.
Anthony Maurice Foxx, 21, faces life in prison for stabbing his then-girlfriend Ayana Belton. An autopsy report indicates that she had at least 124 "sharp force" injuries from some sort of weapon.
Family members told police that Foxx, who was 19 at the time, and Belton had been arguing because Belton was dating another person.
On March 26, The Palatka Police Department was called to the area of Husson Avenue and Pink Orchard Way around 8:35 p.m. where they found Belton unresponsive outside a home with multiple stab wounds to her body.
She was rushed to the hospital and later died, police say.
Family members say that shortly after the incident, Foxx started banging on their door and told them that Ayana "was down there dead".
“It was the worst moment of our lives," said Robert Belton, Ayana's father.
The father says he found Ayana’s body about a 100 yards outside and away from their house.
Belton’s father told police that he walked down the driveway to where she was and started performing CPR. During recovery efforts, her father told police that Foxx repeatedly asked him where Belton’s phone was and if he knew the passcode.
The report says that Foxx left before police arrived but later rode back up on the scene riding a bicycle. The report indicates that he was covered in blood. He was taken into custody by police.
“He kept on trying to yell at me through the police car... my emotions went blank at the moment. I didn’t know what to feel. I was in shock and had no words to say," said Ayana's sister, Denisha.
Denisha says the sister wanted to leave Foxx because they had issues in their relationship, but she didn’t know how to leave him.
Melanie Belton, Ayana’s mother urges others in the community to look out for sign of domestic violence or abuse and get help immediately.
Once in custody, Foxx reportedly told police he was hanging out with Belton and left because her dad was home. He said that Belton called him after he left to come and "beat someone's a**" and he rushed back over.
He told police an unknown man was on scene with a knife and left in a gray vehicle. Police say his statements were "very inconsistent and changed several times."
“We just miss her so much you know it’s not going to go away. I think grieving for her and missing her is a part of healing," said Ayana's father.
Foxx was charged with second-degree murder. He was later indicted on a first-degree murder charge and now faces life in prison.