Woman Says She Tripped, Accidentally Stabbed Husband To Death

LAKELAND, FL -- A 38-year-old Lakeland woman said she accidentally stabbed her husband to death when she tripped while holding a kitchen knife.

However, the Polk County Sheriff's Office doesn't buy her story. Detectives have charged Rachel Fidanian of Lakeland with second-degree murder with a weapon.

She was arrested Wednesday, Oct. 10, after the medical examiner ruled the June 25 death of Brian Fidanian, 40, a homicide.

Fidanian called 911 on June 25 to report that she'd accidentally stabbed her husband. She told the 911 dispatcher that she was using a kitchen knife to slice pizza when she heard her dog whimper. She said she looked over and saw that the dog was peeing and pooping on the floor. She rushed to pick up the dog and her husband came forward to help her at the same time. She said that's when she tripped on an area rug and stabbed her husband.

He was taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries.

Early in the investigation, detectives said they were suspicious of Fidanian's story. She said she was wearing a black and red flannel robe when the stabbing occurred but the robe showed no trace of urine or feces.

And detectives said the demonstration Fidanian gave of how she was holding the knife as she tried to pick up the dog and ended up stabbing her husband didn't make sense.

But it was the medical examiner's conclusion that the death was a homicide that gave detectives probably cause to arrest her this week. According to the autopsy, the husband died when four inches of the knife blade sliced through his second rib bone and severed the pulmonary artery that supplies blood to the heart.

"The suspect made a lot of excuses, but none of them made sense," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "Our detectives did a thorough investigation. In the end, they determined this was an intentional act of domestic violence."

She is being held without bail at the Polk County Jail.

Image via Polk Sheriff

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