By Echo Menges
A fugitive from Kentucky, Shannon Lynn Tarpein, 48, of Wingo, KY, was apprehended by local law enforcement on Tuesday morning, December 12, 2023.
According to Scotland County Sheriff Bryan Whitney, Tarpein is facing criminal charges in Graves County, KY, including assault in the first degree – domestic violence, unlawful imprisonment in the first degree, violation of conditions of release, and arson in the second degree.
Tarpein is accused of allegedly stabbing her boyfriend with a kitchen knife multiple times in the head, neck, and arm on October 26, 2023. Tarpein is also accused of attempting to burn down the victim’s residence by allegedly pouring lighter fluid and gasoline around the residence, and allegedly leaving a fabric doll on the stove after turning it on.
According to court documents, the fabric doll was “burned to ashes”.
The victim allegedly told an investigator Tarpein stopped him from leaving the residence during the altercation. They two were to have no contact due to “prior domestic violence cases”.
Sheriff Whitney and his deputies took Tarpein into custody without incident in Memphis after receiving a tip that the fugitive was hiding in an apartment on Cornelius Avenue.
“A Deputy was dispatched to set up surveillance at the apartment. Approximately an hour later, I arrived with my Chief Deputy. We gained consent from the renter of the apartment to search it. She was located hiding in a bathroom behind a locked door, and then she was taken into custody without incident,” Sheriff Bryan Whitney told the Memphis Democrat. “These were charges that she hadn’t been to court for. She will be held in my jail pending transport back to Kentucky to face criminal charges. She is being held without bond.”
The Sheriff believes Tarpein has been in the area for the past seven days. It is not clear how she is connected to the area or the renter of the apartment where she was apprehended. The name of the person allegedly harboring Tarpein has not been released to the public.
