Rome Man Remembered, Brooklyn Man Charged with 2nd Degree Murder
By: Jennifer Lee
Updated: September 28, 2011
A Brooklyn man is pleading not guilty to killing a 20-year-old Rome man.
26-year-old Terrence Dames was in court today. He is charged with second degree murder. Stephen LaPointe died last night in Rome Memorial Hospital.
Stephen lived with Cale Bovee for the last two years. She is devastated by the loss and she says he will be remembered as a good person.
Cale says she was sleeping at the time of the incident on Lawrence Street.
She was awakened by her daughter screaming for her to get up. Cale ran down the street as the ambulance drove off and saw Stephen's brother yelling his brother has been stabbed.
"I'll never forget the sound of his voice. He said he stabbed him and he fell on the ground and kept stabbing him and stabbing him," said Bovee.
According to witness statements, words were exchanged between Stephen and a man on a bike. Things got out of hand and that's when they realized Stephen has been stabbed repeatedly in the abdomen and chest.
Police say Terrence Dames fled the scene and he was found and now charged with second degree murder.
Cale says she considered Stephen as one of her kids.
"He adopted me. I didn't adopt Stephen... He came to live with us. He chose us to love him. He came on his own. He was a good kid. He never disrespected me," explained Bovee.
Cale says Stephen had a lot of potential in his future and it's a tragedy to see him go so soon.
" If he was playing a game or listening to music, I say Stephen can you do this for me. Can you take the garbage for me or can you go to the store. He always did it. He never complained. He jumped up and did it. Always cleaned up after himself and cleaned up better than I did," recalls Bovee.
Detective Bates of the Rome Police Department says cases like this are very rare.
"Generally, in Rome on average we see one homicide a year. Last year we had two. At this point we have one. Yesterday was the first one for us," said Bates.
Terrence Dames will be in court Friday morning for a hearing.
