Stabbing occurred during argument over ‘dishes and beer,’ attorney says

A defense attorney for a 50-year-old woman laid out an unfortunate series of events Monday in Cherokee County General Sessions Court while making a bid for her release.

Patricia Ann Sprouse is charged with murder in connection with the Nov. 1 stabbing death of her boyfriend, Michael Carpenter, 48, insider her Marietta Road home.

During a bond hearing Monday, Defense Attorney Don Thompson said Sprouse and Carpenter had been in a relationship for about six months and had been drinking Nov. 1 when an argument broke out, allegedly about “dishes and beer.”

Ultimately, he said, the argument turned violent.

“He went to the kitchen and took a utensil out,” Thompson relayed. “She went to the kitchen and took a utensil out.”

The defense attorney alleged on his client’s behalf that Carpenter then turned toward her. Unbeknownst to Sprouse at the moment, Thompson said, Carpenter had grabbed a spoon while Sprouse had grabbed a knife.

Police reported that when they arrived at the scene they found Sprouse applying pressure to a wound on Carpenter’s chest. Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler had said an autopsy showed Carpenter died from a stab wound to his heart.

In seeking bond, Thompson noted that his client would not be able to put up much money or resources but argued she did not represent a risk of flight due to her family ties in the area.

Circuit Court Judge Derham Cole did not issue an immediate ruling on whether Sprouse would be granted bond.