Zedric Joseph, University of Maine running back, is taken into custody in connection with a fatal stabbing in Florida.
The 23-year-old Ricardy Chery, one of the victims of the stabbing incident Friday in West Palm Beach, was pronounced dead at the hospital, while a 23-year-old woman Vashti Laurore was treated for her injuries and released. The woman was stabbed in the hand, while the man suffered multiple stab injuries.
Police officials have not yet determined the motive of the attack. According to jail records, Joseph is being held on for one count of murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
University of Maine officials said that Joseph is temporarily suspended from the school Saturday upon learning of the double stabbing incident.
"We were very saddened to learn that a University of Maine student has been arrested in connection with the death of one person and the injury of another in Florida," said Kenda Scheele, UMaine assistant vice president and senior associate dean for students. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those whose lives have been forever changed by this horrific incident," Bangor Daily News reports.
Echoing similar sentiments UMaine football coach Jack Cosgrove said that it is hard to digest. The coach conveyed his 'deepest sympathies to the victims and their families and friends connected to the tragedy.'
Joseph enrolled at UMaine in 2011. He is a senior majoring in child development and family relations and was a member of the football team. The 23-year-old South Florida native was an All-Northeast Football Conference first-team tailback in 2010 after rushing for 497 yards and three touchdowns. At Palm Beach Central High School, Joseph set school records for single-game receiving yards and kick returns for touchdowns.
This is not the first time Joseph is facing felony charges. University police arrested him December 17, 2012 and charged him with domestic violence assault and criminal threatening on the Orono campus, according to a University of Maine spokeswoman.
If convicted, Joseph would be the second UMaine football player in recent times to have killed a person. Jovan Belcher, former UMaine player and linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, shot and killed his girlfriend and then took his own life December 2012.
