Manatee County man accused of stabbing wife to death told 911 ‘I hope I didn’t wait too long’: MCSO affidavit

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Courtesy: Manatee County Sheriff's Office

BRADENTON, Fla. - Newly released information from a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office probable cause affidavit shed light on a husband’s deadly stabbing that left his wife dead inside their home last week while their two young children were nearby.

The backstory:

According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, on April 9, Jesse Jones, 39, called 911 shortly after 5:30 p.m. to report that he had stabbed his wife and believed she was dead.

Deputies responded to the couple’s home on 82nd Avenue Circle East in south Manatee County, and found the victim, Meaghan Bowler, 32, in an upstairs bathroom bathtub with multiple stab wounds. The affidavit says Jones was still on the phone with dispatchers when deputies arrived and directed them to the scene.

Courtesy: Manatee County Sheriff's Office

First responders began life-saving measures, and Bowler was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, where she later died, MCSO said.

Dig deeper:

Investigators say Jones admitted during the 911 call and again to deputies at the scene, that he stabbed Bowler several times during an argument in the kitchen.

According to the affidavit, Jones told dispatchers the stabbing may have occurred sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. At one point during the call, he reportedly said, "I hope I didn’t wait too long."

Deputies also learned that Jones moved his wife's body into the bathtub after the attack, according to the sheriff's office.

Jones faces a second-degree murder charge.