Odd News

Father: Son planned to wed stabbing victim

(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-20 14:16

The father of a man charged with fatally stabbing a high school student in front of teachers and classmates said Friday his son had talked of marrying the victim.

Eddie Lee Cornelius of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said he was shocked by the allegations about his "mild-mannered" son and had no idea what may have prompted the brutal attack.

Edwin Cornelius, 24, of Aynor, was apprehended shortly after the incident Thursday morning outside the school in Conway, about 10 miles from Myrtle Beach.

Autopsy results showed Natalia Holmes, 18, died of multiple stab wounds.

Eddie Lee Cornelius told The Associated Press the pair were dating and that there were signs of trouble in the relationship.

"He did mention a few problems," Eddie Lee Cornelius said. "She'd say one thing one day and switch out on the next one, but he still stuck with her anyway."

Friends said Holmes was a senior who worked after school at a local mall. The school said she was a recent transfer student from California.

The younger Cornelius waived bail and will remain jailed until a grand jury convenes this summer, a prosecutor said.

He was convicted of criminal domestic violence in October, but the incident didn't involve Holmes, authorities said. He also was charged with voluntary manslaughter in 2003 in the death of his mother's boyfriend, but prosecutors dropped the charge after determining that slaying was in self-defense.

"He's a young man who was looking for a life, and I feel so down about him never getting the life he was searching for," said Eddie Lee Cornelius, who was a member of the Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose band that recorded the 1970s hits "Too Late to Turn Back Now" and "Treat Her Like a Lady."