Woman in critical condition, man arrested after Thanksgiving stabbing in Palatka

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office made an arrest Friday following a Thanksgiving night stabbing that sent a woman to the hospital in critical condition.

Tramayne Grant, 45, now faces charges of attempted homicide and obstruction.

The stabbing happened shortly after 11 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Twigg Street and South Palm Avenue.

Deputies found the critically injured woman -- identified by her family as Yvonne Griffin, who’s known as Toni -- in her neighbors’ driveway.

Surveillance video captured the woman walking up to the driveway, sitting down at the edge of the driveway and then lying down. Neighbor Walter Russell and his family were inside their home when the dogs started barking.

“I looked at my camera and saw a lady out there. When I came out, she was hollering for help and said she was stabbed,” he said. “We got her a pillow to lay on to make her a little bit more comfortable.”

His wife -- Leah Russell, who is a former nurse -- also went outside to help the woman.

“Just went over there and was talking to her and trying to keep her calm and steady as possible,” recalled Leah Russell, who called 911.

The couple stayed with the woman and did their best to comfort her until paramedics arrived. The woman’s injuries were so severe that she had to be flown to Orange Park Medical Center.

“It just went from somebody sitting in my yard to ‘Oh, my God. There’s a serious situation. Let’s get somebody here as quickly as we can to get her taken care of,’” Walter Russell recounted.

Amber House, Griffin’s stepsister, said she’s thankful for the Russells’ quick actions.

“If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think she would have made it this far,” House said. “I’m so grateful.”

House told News4Jax that the incident left Griffin with a punctured lung.

“It’s so unexpected, and you never know when something like this is going to happen. It is so crazy to me. I’m still in disbelief,” House said.

According to House, Grant is Griffin’s ex-boyfriend.

“I think they were working on getting back together,” House said.

Grant, who was labeled a person of interest by authorities, showed up at the Palatka Police Department and asked to speak with an investigator, authorities said. Palatka police called sheriff’s deputies because the stabbing happened in the county.

Investigators said Grant was cooperating with deputies before the charges were filed.


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