A probable cause statement says the brother’s girlfriend tried to stop the bleeding before paramedics pronounced him dead.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Police found Javontae Deshawn Simms hiding under basement stairs after his brother was stabbed in the chest during an argument over a kitchen, according to a Hennepin County murder complaint.
The basement discovery became one of the clearest details in the case against Simms, 23, who is charged with second-degree murder. Investigators say he ran from the kitchen after the stabbing, concealed himself behind a wooden panel and later gave police changing explanations. His brother died at the home before dawn April 30, and Simms was later jailed on a $1 million bond.
The police search began after a 911 call brought officers to the 3000 block of Girard Avenue North shortly after 3 a.m. The caller said her boyfriend had been stabbed by his brother. Inside, officers found the victim unconscious on the kitchen floor. His girlfriend was holding a cloth against a wound under his left arm on the side of his chest. Officers began emergency care, and paramedics arrived soon after. The victim was pronounced dead at 3:32 a.m. The first public accounts did not identify him by name or age, and officials said the medical examiner would make the formal ruling on cause and manner of death.
As emergency workers focused on the victim, police also had to account for the man accused of stabbing him. The complaint says Simms had gone downstairs after the wound was inflicted. Officers searched the basement and found him beneath the staircase. Police said a panel had been placed to create a blind spot, allowing him to hide from view. He was taken into custody inside the home rather than after a pursuit. The detail sharpened the picture presented by prosecutors: a fatal wound upstairs, a weapon recovered in the kitchen area and a suspect found concealed downstairs.
Witnesses told police the conflict started in the kitchen before Simms went to the basement. The victim’s girlfriend said she and the victim had made food and were eating when Simms came into the room. She said Simms became upset because his brother had not cleaned up the kitchen to his satisfaction. A second woman in the home said she heard Simms warn his brother that not cleaning up would become an issue between them. The complaint says Simms then left, came back with a knife and pushed his brother. The witnesses described a short physical confrontation followed by the sight of Simms holding a bloody knife.
The victim was still able to speak after he was wounded, according to witness statements summarized in the complaint. The women told police he said that Simms had stabbed him. The girlfriend then tried to apply pressure to the wound. Investigators said the victim was not armed. The knife was recovered from the kitchen area after police secured the scene. The case file does not describe multiple wounds, a long fight or injuries to other people inside the home. Instead, it describes a sudden burst of violence after a family argument over cleaning, followed by the victim’s collapse and Simms’ movement into the basement.
Simms’ statements after the arrest added another layer to the investigation. Police said he initially told investigators that he could not remember what happened and had blacked out. He later described the stabbing as accidental, saying he meant to “fake” stab his brother or that his brother ran into the knife. Another account in the complaint says Simms first suggested the victim had a knife but later admitted that he grabbed the knife first and that the victim was not armed. Those statements are likely to matter in court because they touch on intent, self-defense and whether the killing was accidental.
The charges filed by prosecutors include two second-degree murder counts. One alleges intentional murder without premeditation. The other alleges murder without intent while committing a felony. Both counts are accusations, not findings of guilt. If convicted of second-degree murder, Simms could face up to 40 years in prison. His first court appearance was scheduled for May 4 after the complaint was filed May 1. At that stage, the case would begin with basic court issues before moving toward evidence exchange, possible motions and later hearings. Public reports did not show that Simms had entered a plea in the immediate aftermath of the filing.
The home itself is important to the case because all major events happened inside it. The argument began in the kitchen, the wound was treated on the kitchen floor, the knife was recovered nearby and the arrest happened in the basement. The setting also helps explain why police accounts rely on two women who were inside, rather than on outside witnesses. No public account described surveillance video from the home or neighborhood. The complaint instead ties together what the witnesses said, what officers found and what Simms later told investigators. Prosecutors will need those pieces to hold together as the case moves beyond probable cause.
The unanswered questions remain basic and significant. Officials had not released the victim’s name in early reports. The public record had not explained whether the brothers had argued before that night or whether police had responded to earlier calls at the home. It also had not described the exact knife, autopsy findings or any lab results. The defense may seek to challenge the police interview, the interpretation of the basement hiding place or the witnesses’ view of the struggle. Prosecutors may point to the alleged warning about cleaning, the return with a knife and the concealment under the stairs as evidence of what happened.
The case now rests with Hennepin County District Court. Simms remained held on a $1 million bond as the murder prosecution began, while investigators and prosecutors continued building the record around a kitchen argument, a basement hiding place and a brother’s death.
Author note: Last updated May 24, 2026.