Police said Munyaradzi Chiturumani stabbed his wife about 30 times before leaving with their daughter.
ST. LOUIS, MO — A St. Louis County man was charged after police said he stabbed his wife about 30 times Wednesday at an apartment, left with their daughter and triggered an AMBER Alert that ended with the child found safe.
Munyaradzi Chiturumani, 36, is charged with first-degree domestic assault, armed criminal action and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child creating substantial risk. The case moved from an emergency child search to a criminal prosecution Thursday, when prosecutors filed charges and a judge ordered Chiturumani held on a $500,000 cash-only bond.
Police said the attack happened around 5 p.m. Wednesday at an apartment on Shadycreek Court in unincorporated St. Louis County. Officers from the Central County Precinct were called after neighbors heard Chiturumani’s wife yelling from a balcony that she was “going to die,” according to police. When officers arrived, they found the woman suffering from about 30 stab wounds. She was taken to a hospital and was listed in stable condition after the attack. Police said the woman told investigators that Chiturumani had threatened to kill their child next before leaving the apartment with the girl.
The child was identified in the initial AMBER Alert as Rudo Chiturumani. Police initially described her as 8 years old, while later charging accounts described the child as 6. Officials did not immediately explain the age discrepancy in the public reports. Police said Munyaradzi Chiturumani left in a dark blue 2017 Ford Edge with Maryland license plate 2GY1598. Investigators later found the vehicle abandoned in Frontenac, shifting the search away from the car and toward places where the father and daughter may have gone after leaving it behind.
The AMBER Alert was issued Wednesday evening as officers searched St. Louis County, Frontenac and St. Louis. The alert was canceled after the girl was found safe in St. Louis city, police said. Chiturumani was later found at a motel in Caseyville, Illinois, east of St. Louis. Police said they believe he had attempted to kill himself before officers arrived. Authorities said he was taken into custody after the search, and the case was then referred to St. Louis County prosecutors for formal charges.
Police said they recovered two bloody knives inside the apartment. The discovery is now part of the evidence in the domestic assault case, along with statements from the wounded woman and the neighbors who called 911. Officials have not released the wife’s name, more details about her injuries or whether the child witnessed the stabbing. Police also have not said where in St. Louis city the girl was found or who was with her when officers located her.
The charges place the case in St. Louis County Circuit Court, where prosecutors will have to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. First-degree domestic assault is among Missouri’s most serious domestic violence charges and is filed when prosecutors allege a person tried to kill or caused serious physical injury to a domestic partner. Armed criminal action is tied to the alleged use of a weapon. The two child endangerment counts accuse Chiturumani of creating a substantial risk to a child or children, though public reports did not give a full account of the basis for both counts.
The Wednesday search moved through several parts of the St. Louis region in a matter of hours. It began at the Shadycreek Court apartment, where neighbors heard the woman’s cries and called 911. It continued to Frontenac, where police found the Ford Edge. It then moved into St. Louis city, where the child was located safely, and ended in Caseyville, Illinois, where police found Chiturumani at a motel. The sequence left investigators with scenes in Missouri and Illinois and a timeline that prosecutors are expected to use as the case proceeds.
Police said the woman survived the attack and the child was not reported injured. Chiturumani remained held on the $500,000 cash-only bond after charges were filed Thursday. The next major step is a court appearance in St. Louis County, where the charges, bond and evidence may be reviewed.
Author note: Last updated July 4, 2026.