A 64-year-old man in Indiana is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison for killing his own daughter, allegedly stabbing her because he felt “humiliated” because she frequently left her children with him.
According to authorities, Knox County Circuit Judge Monica Gilmore sentenced Fritzner Antoine to 60 years in a state prison for the brutal murder of Sterline Antoine Joseph on Monday.
According to a Knox County Prosecutor’s Office news release, officers from the Vincennes Police Department responded to a call about a possible stabbing at a home in the 1400 block of Audubon Road, about 115 miles southwest of Indianapolis, around 7 a.m. on June 24, 2023.
When first responders arrived at the scene, they discovered a 30-year-old woman, later identified as Joseph, who appeared to have multiple stab wounds, according to Terre Haute NBC affiliate WTWO. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to prosecutors, Joseph’s two children were present at the residence and heard their mother’s screams as she was killed by her father (their grandfather).
Antoine readily admitted to the killing, telling investigators that his daughter had “disrespected him” by “asking him to watch her children too often.”
“Antoine claimed that Victim 1 ‘humiliated’ him and repeatedly left her children with him. Antoine stated that he chose a ‘gold’ ‘table knife’ from near the sink in the residence,” according to a probable cause affidavit. “Antoine stated that he intended to ‘flog’ Victim 1 for being disrespectful to him, he had the knife in his hand, so he ‘did it.'”
When police informed Antoine that he was being arrested for killing his daughter, he reportedly said, “Yes, I agree.”
“The man said he selected a gold knife and stabbed her in the head or wherever else he could,” prosecutors wrote in the release.
Gilmore’s 60-year sentence was consistent with prosecutors’ recommendations. Prior to handing down Antoine’s de facto life sentence, the judge addressed the court.
“Members of the victim’s family were present today. “It makes no difference whether they live for 60 or 600 years,” she explained. “Seeing the woman’s husband, mother, and other family members today highlighted the system’s limitations.
We try every day to make a difference, but there isn’t always justice or closure. All we can do is keep trying to do the right thing, to make a difference, and to believe that sometimes what we do matters — even when it doesn’t appear to.
Antoine and his daughter had just moved to Vincennes, Indiana, from Haiti when he murdered her, according to WTWO.
