Rochester woman allegedly stabs father following argument

ROCHESTER — A 44-year-old Rochester woman is being charged with three felonies after allegedly stabbing her father in the shoulder with a steak knife on Wednesday, Oct. 25, according to Rochester Police Department reports. 

The alleged stabbing stemmed from an argument between Meagan Smith and her father, 70-year-old Walter Smith, according to police reports. 

Meagan Smith, who was arraigned on Thursday, Oct. 26, is being held on $100,040 bail and is charged with armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a person over 60, and domestic assault and battery, according to the police report. 

Walter Smith was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford where he was treated for the wound and subsequently discharged. He initially denied that the stabbing had taken place.

This is not the first time Rochester police have responded to calls involving Meagan Smith, according to the police report.

Rochester police Sergeant Richard Heslin was dispatched to the area of North Avenue and Bennett Road at approximately 8 p.m. for a report of an “intoxicated female causing a disturbance,” who was later identified as Meagan Smith.

“Meagan was very upset and stated that her father was abusive to her and her mother, which made her mentally unstable,” wrote Heslin in his report. 

In the report, Barbara Smith, Meagan Smith’s mother, told police that the suspect and victim had a “tumultuous relationship” but denied that it was physically abusive. She added that Meagan and Walter Smith had an argument prior to police arriving on scene. 

At first, Barbara and Walter Smith denied that any physical altercation had taken place that night. Then, during an interview, Heslin noticed a “baseball-sized blood stain” forming on the left side of Walter Smith’s shirt. 

Walter Smith first claimed he fell down a light of stairs “onto a nail,” according to reports. After further questioning, Heslin “observed Walter [Smith] had a puncture wound on his upper left shoulder area that was bleeding despite being covered by medical tape.”

According to the police report, Barbara Smith told officers that Meagan Smith “stabbed Walter earlier in the night but did not mean it.”

Police reports claim that Walter Smith had been arguing with his daughter around 6 p.m. Then, around 6:30 p.m. Walter Smith went into his bedroom, closed the door and got into bed.

“Sometime after that, Meagan burst into Walter’s room with a knife and he jumped out of bed,” read the report. “Meagan then [allegedly] stabbed her father once in the left shoulder.”

According to the police report, the Plymouth County Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Investigations photographed and “processed” the crime scene.