A 28-year-old Oregon man, identified by police as S Mate Joseph, is accused of stabbing to death his former partner, 24-year-old Neilyann Ysam, who recently escaped an alleged abusive relationship with him. Their 4-year-old daughter, heartbreakingly, was the one who called 911, reporting her mother’s death by saying, “My dad killed my mom.”
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According to a release issued by the Portland Police Bureau, the incident occurred on July 19. At around 12:32 p.m., police officers responded to a Southeast 143rd Court residence after receiving a stabbing report.
Upon arrival, they found an adult female, later identified as Ysam, having been stabbed. She was pronounced deceased by emergency responders.
At the time of the incident, Ysam’s five children were present at the house, all unharmed. The suspect, Joseph, had fled the scene, according to the police. However, he was eventually found and taken into custody in Vancouver, Washington.
S Mate Joseph was charged with first-degree murder and second-degree domestic violence.
Months after the alleged stabbing murder, court documents detail an even more heartbreaking scene.
Girl Called 911
As reported by KATU, which reviewed the court documents, it was Ysam’s 4-year-old daughter who came across the violent and devastating scene. She was the one who first called 911, providing the suspect’s name and saying, “My dad killed my mom.”
“I’ve been doing this quite a while. I have had cases like that before, but they’re pretty rare,” Multonah County Deputy District Attorney Brian Davidson said. “It’s again a horrific thing for a child to witness any act of violence and certainly one of this order of magnitude, you just can’t, again, overstate how terrible that is.”
A second 911 call was placed by S Mate Joseph himself. According to authorities, he allegedly admitted to stabbing Ysam, saying he had stabbed a “loved one,” although he wasn’t aware if she had died.
The court documents detailed how Ysam and her children had fled their Vancouver home, escaping from Joseph’s clutches. Allegedly, he was abusive to Ysam, having pleaded guilty to assaulting her while pregnant in 2019.
Joseph’s lawyers entered a not guilty plea on Thursday, August 28.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, you can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. You can also chat with a representative at thehotline.org or by texting “START” to 88788.