River Roper Admits To Ex-Boyfriend’s Stabbing After Initially Blaming Homeless Black Man

River Roper, a Washington woman who allegedly blamed the stabbing of her ex-boyfriend on a homeless Black man, has been arrested for domestic assault and armed criminal action, according to the EMissourian. On Oct. 18, Roper and her ex-boyfriend met at a Washington motel, and while he was showering, Roper’s father arrived at the motel.

After the ex-boyfriend was finished with his shower, he and Roper’s father began arguing, but Roper’s father left before things could escalate further. Once her father left, however, she and her ex-boyfriend kept arguing. Eventually, the ex-boyfriend was cut, according to the police report.

“She (Roper) said she was holding the knife, which she described as a small table knife with a black handle, to protect her,” the report said. “She said she did not know how she actually cut him.”

According to the report, the laceration was “approximately 3 to 4 inches in length,” and Roper’s ex-boyfriend fell backward onto the bed and bled onto it, which prompted Roper to grab towels to wrap his wound with. He left the motel, but Roper picked him up and took him to a local Walgreens, where they purchased gauze to wrap his arm.

The ex-boyfriend refused to go to the hospital after using makeshift bandages, so they returned to his apartment. It was there when he began to lose consciousness after approximately two hours, at which point Roper called 911. He was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he was treated and released on Oct 19.

According to the police report, “After I conducted a short investigation and revealed the statements were not matching up, I asked her to tell me what had really happened,” the arresting officer wrote. “It was at this point she had provided the above account.”

Roper’s ex-boyfriend, meanwhile, admitted that he did not want her to get into trouble with the law, so he didn’t want to go to the hospital. Once the Washington Police Department searched the motel room, they found the bloody towels and other evidence. The police say they received three calls about a domestic dispute involving the pair, all in September. Roper is currently being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond.

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