Man accused in fatal motel stabbing

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (WAVY) - An attempted first degree murder charge filed against a suspect in a motel stabbing has been upgraded to first degree murder.

Police in Elizabeth City were called to the Econo Lodge on South Hughes Boulevard on April 21, just before 9 a.m. Police Chief Charles Crudup said arriving officers found the victim, Shawntae Nicole McPherson, suffering from multiple lacerations.

McPherson was taken to Albemarle Hospital and later transported to Norfolk General, where she died three days later.

Crudup said investigators identified the suspect as Gerard La'Tea Patterson and determined Patterson and McPherson knew each other.

Patterson was initially charged with attempted first degree murder and given a $930,000 secured bond. That bond was later revoked and the charge upgraded after McPherson's death. He remains behind bars at Albemarle District Jail.

Crudup said the case is still under investigation.