Man charged, victim identified in fatal St. Paul stabbing

Murder charges have been filed against a man accused of fatally stabbing a woman Sunday in St. Paul.

Maurice McClinton Smith, 39, was booked into jail Sunday night in connection with the killing of 48-year-old Tina McCombs. He is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree burglary while possessing a dangerous weapon. 

Officers responded to a 911 call around 2:30 p.m. Sunday and found McCombs unresponsive with a stab wound to her chest, according to police. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene. An autopsy report revealed that McCombs bled out after suffering two stab wounds to her chest.

McCombs’ boyfriend told police he was in the living room and McCombs was in the bedroom when an intruder kicked open the apartment door, a criminal complaint states. The burglar then raised his right arm and thrust it downward at McCombs. The man ran out of the apartment, and McCombs fell to the floor.

The man who entered their apartment had red dreadlocks and a tattoo of a six-pointed star on his face, McCombs’ boyfriend said. Two other people in the apartment building told police they had seen a man with dreadlocks before the stabbing.

Police were eventually able to find Smith that afternoon lying on the rear stoop of a home on the 100 block of Mount Airy Street. He was shivering from exposure to the cold and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. He matched the description of the man who broke into McCombs’ apartment and had blood on the front of his clothes.

During an interview with police, Smith admitted he knew McCombs and had gone to her apartment “to kill her,” the complaint states.

Smith remains in custody, and a Ramsey County judge has set his bail at $1 million. His first court appearance is set for Tuesday morning.