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Peoria Man Arrested for Taft Homes Stabbing Death

Peoria Police Department

A Peoria man is facing a murder charge following a Sunday night stabbing.

49-year-old Lester A. Broom was booked into the Peoria County Jail this morning. Police had identified him as the suspect in the stabbing death of 58-year-old Shirley M. King.

Coroner Jaimie Harwood says King was pronounced dead in a Taft Homes apartment at 11:32 p.m. Peoria police located King with a stab wound after an unidentified person called for an ambulance approximately 20 minutes earlier.

Authorities were seeking the public’s help in locating Broom after he reportedly fled the scene. Peoria police located Broom in the 600 block of Morton Street. He was taken into custody around 3:45 Monday morning without incident.

King is the second Peoria woman to die by stabbing in less than a week. 19-year-old Charee A. Alexander died Friday following a Thursday afternoon fight in Schmoeger Park. Authorities are still seeking a suspect in Alexander’s death.   

 

Kristin McHugh is an experienced radio journalist and nonprofit manager. Most recently, she served as executive director of the Peoria Area World Affairs Council.