Joseph Troutman accused of fatally stabbing son

Suspect's brother-in-law says children need to learn to respect parents

NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A South Florida man is accused of stabbing his 40-year-old son during an argument about another stabbing.

The stabbing occurred shortly before 11:30 p.m. Thursday in North Lauderdale.

Broward Sheriff's Office detectives said Joseph Troutman, 63, stabbed his son, Tyrone Troutman, in the back with a butcher knife. He was enraged after an argument that detectives describe as "an old family issue, an incident years ago during which the father stabbed the son's mother."

Detectives said Tyrone Troutman managed to knock on a neighbor's door. That neighbor's son told Local 10 the last thing his father heard was "Help me, help me" before Tyrone Troutman collapsed in a pool of blood on their front door step.

Neighbor Diego Arias performed CPR, but Troutman died from his injury.

Joseph Troutman is facing a charge of second-degree murder.

Detectives said he called 911 to say he stabbed his son but then later told them he was acting in self-defense. Detectives said Troutman conceded his son was unarmed.

Neighbors told Local 10 the incident was "shocking." Known as "Mr. Joe" by neighbors, they said the suspect was a "good guy" and friendly.

The suspect's brother-in-law, Jonathan Lloyd, had a surprising message to those wondering why a father would stab his son to death.

"Well, the only thing I can say is the kids need to learn one thing: Respect your parents, if your parents respect you," Lloyd told Local 10's Christina Vazquez. "If you don't respect your parents, anything (is) liable to happen. You might kill your parent or your parent might kill you."