A British nursing student and TikTok influencer was fatally stabbed by her roommate in Texas after they allegedly got into an argument over a cat, police said.
On April 26, law enforcement conducting a welfare check found Elizabeth Odunsi on the kitchen floor of her Houston apartment, where she was living while attending Texas Woman’s University, according to ABC 13.
Officers did not receive a response after knocking on the door, but saw blood on the back patio and went inside. Upon entering the residence, they discovered the 23-year-old suffering from dozens of stab wounds, police said.
Odunsi’s roommate, 40-year-old Chester Lamar Grant, was also found in a bedroom “with at least one stab wound,” according to the cops.
Odunsi was pronounced dead at the scene, just days before she was set to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in nursing, according to the university’s website. Grant was taken to a hospital in critical condition with injuries investigators believe may have been self-inflicted.
Grant was arrested last week and subsequently charged with murder, police announced on Monday. He’s being held at the Harris County Jail on $500,000 bond.
During the bond hearing, the judge called the murder a brutal crime that stemmed from an argument over Grant’s cat. Witnesses said police had been called to the apartment several times in the past for fights between the roommates, including hours before Odunsi’s body was found, according to ABC 13.
The two had only been roommates for about two months, reported KHOU. The company that owns and operates the apartment complex pairs roommates up at random. It’s website says it does not “use any criteria to match roommate compatibility,” but that background checks are performed on each applicant.
Grant has reportedly been convicted several times in the past for domestic violence in Washington State, according to ABC 13.
A GoFundMe set up by Odunsi’s family described her as “a beautiful soul, full of light, ambition and kindness,” who “always dreamed of making a difference in young lives through her future work in healthcare.”
Odunsi also had over 50,000 followers on her Tami Dollars TikTok account, where she posted tips for fellow nursing school students.
