Man nearly decapitated wife in Fort Worth kitchen, told police she cut herself: affidavit
A 38-year-old man on a Friday night in late February used a knife to nearly cut off his wife’s head in their far south Fort Worth kitchen and reported to police that the woman had inflicted the wound herself, authorities alleged.
Nathaniel Rowland was on Thursday charged with murder. Homicide detectives arrested him on Tuesday after a forensic pathologist concluded the death was a homicide and Rowland’s wife was found to have defensive hand injuries.
Elizabeth Rowland was lying face up on the kitchen floor when police arrived at the couple’s house.
She had a large gaping wound to her throat, according to the account of a Fort Worth Police Department homicide detective that is described in an affidavit supporting her husband’s arrest warrant.
A knife stained by blood was on a counter above Elizabeth, who was 38. The knife appeared to have been removed from a knife block on the same counter, according to the affidavit.
“It seemed unlikely that Elizabeth would have been able to place the knife on the counter top after inflicting such a severe injury to herself,” Detective Kyle Sullivan wrote in the affidavit. The police department released the document upon a request from the Star-Telegram.
Nathaniel Rowland had a significant amount of blood on his shorts, T-shirt, hands, face and hair when Detective Sullivan arrived at the house. Police collected the clothing and allowed him to clean up.
He had called 911 about 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 and said that his wife had stabbed herself in the throat at their house in the 1200 block of Camden Yard Drive.
In an interview with Sullivan and Detective Matt Anderson, Nathaniel Rowland described watching his wife cut her neck.
Nathaniel said he was sitting at his computer chair in the garage when Elizabeth took a seat next to him.
Nathaniel said he placed his feet on Elizabeth’s lap and tried to talk to her, eventually removed his feet and that she stood and ran to the kitchen.
He said he followed her into the kitchen and was about five seconds behind her when he turned a corner and heard the sound of metal.
Nathaniel said he watched Elizabeth use her left hand to cut a portion of her neck while she was standing.
Nathaniel said he called 911 and told his stepdaughter to do the same.
The couple met about 10 years ago and was married in September.
Elizabeth was diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder and took medication, Nathaniel told the detectives, according to the affidavit.
Nathaniel said that Elizabeth reportedly was suicidal in July 2022 when she was with her former husband.
In the hours before she died, the couple and Elizabeth’s visiting 15-year-old daughter went out to dinner. They returned to the house about 7:45 p.m.
In an interview with the detectives, Elizabeth’s daughter said she did not hear a disturbance in the house before her stepfather came into her bedroom and told her to call 911.
Elizabeth’s daughter said her mother came into her room about an hour before she died and told her they had to wake early in the morning.
In May, Nathaniel Rowland was arrested in a domestic violence matter. Irving police alleged he assaulted a girlfriend who lived with him. He struck the woman in the face, breaking some of her teeth, police alleged. The domestic violence aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury case is pending.
Sullivan wrote that at the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office he saw two wounds on the back of Elizabeth’s right hand he believed were defensive. Such a wound typically occurs when victims of knife attacks attempt to shield themselves, Sullivan wrote.
In a follow-up interview with the detectives at his house, Nathaniel Rowland said he was standing in the garage when Elizabeth cut her throat. He said he did not remember seeing Elizabeth fall to the ground. After Elizabeth was on the ground, Nathaniel said, he straddled her and placed his left hand on her throat and started CPR with his right hand while he was on the telephone with 911.
Nathaniel said he did not leave Elizabeth until officers arrived.
When Sullivan confronted Nathaniel with some of the elements of the investigation, the suspect said he had “flashes” in his mind about details but did not know if the “flashes” were real, according to the affidavit. Nathaniel said he may have grabbed Elizabeth and tried to prevent her from cutting herself, and may have grabbed her arm that held the knife, helped her to the ground and placed the knife on the counter.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, chat online at thehotline.org, or locally call SafeHaven of Tarrant County’s hotline at 1-877-701-7233 or One Safe Place at 817-916-4323. If you or a loved one are experiencing a crisis, call 988, to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
This story was originally published March 6, 2024 at 3:35 PM.
