MONROE COUNTY, Fla. – Clifford Cease was planning to celebrate his 33rd birthday with a Sunday house party, but his fiance ended up stabbing him that night, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. He died on Monday.
When Heather Evans took too long shopping for the party, Cease was upset with her. Cease's parents, Diane and Gary Burden, said the couple argued. They were leaving when they said they saw Evans punch him in the face.
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Her future mother-in-law rushed to intervene, when she said Evans attacked her too. Burden said Evans grabbed her hair and shoved her. Her forehead hit the corner of a living room table. She required medical attention, so they left.
Hours later after the birthday party was canceled, there was more blood.
Evans, 26, called 911. She told police she had stabbed Cease, because he was holding her down and choking her. Deputy Austin Hopp responded to the home where both Evans and Cease had lived together at 1250 Key Deer Blvd.
Hopp reported finding Evans outside of the house, after she had tried to get rid of the knife in the woods. Cease was inside in the kitchen. He was unresponsive and had suffered a knife wound. Hopp reported there was "an extremely large amount of blood."
Monroe County authorities rushed Cease to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where he died. Evans, who was held at Stock Island Jail without bond, faced charges of second-degree murder and commission of a first-degree felony offense with a weapon. She was also charged with tampering with evidence.