Man charged with murder after allegedly stabbing woman he was staying with at retirement home in Old Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A man who was staying with a woman found stabbed to death at a retirement home in Old Louisville early Wednesday morning has been arrested and charged with her murder.

According to an arrest citation, Kenneth Muse, 73, was staying with the victim and called 911 after the stabbing.

It happened at the Friendship House, off South Fourth Street, around 5 a.m., according to Louisville Metro Police.

When officers arrived on scene, they found the victim inside one of the apartments, LMPD said. EMS was called to the scene, but she died at the apartment.

The arrest report for Muse said he called 911 from his own phone number, and a phone bill found in the victim's apartment had Muse's name and the same phone number listed on it.

Investigators listened to the call, where Muse said he had stabbed the woman and to send police. Court documents say he was also seen on surveillance video leaving the Friendship House at the same time he placed the 911 call. Investigators also found copies of the retirement home's sign-in sheet, which showed Muse was signed in as a guest of the victim.

Muse was arrested sometime Wednesday evening and booked into Metro Corrections in downtown Louisville. He'll be arraigned in court Thursday morning.

Friendship House is a retirement community for people 62 years and older who live independently but have access to enhanced care services, according to the Christian Care Communities website.

The president and CEO of Christian Care Communities, Mary Lynn Spalding, confirmed the victim was a resident.

"Basically, we don't have a tremendous amount of information at this point," Spalding said before noon Wednesday. "Early this morning we were notified that there was an unfortunate incident involving a woman here in Friendship House. At this point we are working very closely with Louisville Metro Police to find more answers to what has gone on. Our hopes and prayers are with the family. We've already reached out to the family of this particular individual and we're trying to support them as well as the residents of Friendship House and the rest of our community."

Spalding said the building houses about 200 residents, and has not had issues with violence in the past.

"At this point, it happened very early so we've gotten word out to all of our residents to put their mind at ease," Spalding said. "The police have been very thorough in their investigation and what they're doing and we basically have told (residents) to trust in that process and to trust in our police department to help them and to keep them safe. In addition to that, we provide spiritual care here at Christian Care, so we have chaplains on staff, so for individuals that have specific concerns, we're here to support them and our chaplains are here to support them as well."

Spalding said this is a tragic situation.

"I don't know all of the details at this particular point, but anything that happens to any of our residents in any of our communities across the Commonwealth touches my heart," she said. "We wouldn't be in this business — in addition to the wonderful staff that works with me — if we didn't care for individuals that are older. So, anytime anything happens, we are always, our hearts go out to these folks."

LMPD's Homicide Unit is handling the investigation.

According to LMPD, there have been more than 60 homicides this year in the city. That's about the same as this time last year.

Since Saturday, there have been at least seven homicides in Jefferson County.

That includes a shooting at The Hot Spot on Evangeline Avenue early Saturday morning that left two people dead and two others injured, a deadly shooting in Lyndon, a shooting near railroad tracks off Allmond Avenue and Louisville Avenue, a shooting in Okolona off Preston Highway, a Tuesday morning shooting on Esquire Alley, and the stabbing Wednesday morning at Friendship House.

"We remain resolute and dedicated to reducing violent crime in our community," said Maj. Arnold Rivera, commander of LMPD's Major Crimes Division. "We are actively seeking out to identify and apprehend those drivers of violent crime in our community."

Rivera also said there have been more than 130 people who have survived shootings this year in Louisville. He said receiving tips from the community is crucial, and that tips are coming in.

"And that says to me that there is an overwhelming part of our community that has said, 'Enough. This is unacceptable,'" he said.

Anyone with any information about this stabbing or any other crime is asked to call the LMPD Crime Tip Line at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or submit a tip through the online portal by clicking here. All tips are anonymous.

For more information on the Friendship House and Christian Care Communities, click here.

This story may be updated.

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