Roommate Arrested in Woman's Stabbing Death at Rockville Apartment

A 53-year-old woman has been arrested in the stabbing death of her roommate in their Rockville, Maryland, apartment.

Chong Park, 67, was found stabbed to death just after 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Park's roommate, Rita Narcissa Sanders-Campfield, has been charged with first-degree murder, police announced Wednesday.

Authorities say Sanders-Campfield's journal, which was found next to her bed, included an entry saying that Park was "evil" and practiced "witchcraft." The journal also allegedly said she was trying to be "perfected."

Investigators say the victim may have been dead for awhile by the time a maintenance worker found her body Tuesday morning at the White Flint Station apartments in the 11800 block of Old Georgetown Road.

The worker had gone to the apartment after Park's daughter called building management, saying she hadn't heard from her mother since Nov. 29.

Park's body was found on her bedroom floor. Montgomery County Police said she had been stabbed multiple times in the back with a butcher knife. The knife was still in her back when her body was found.

Sanders-Campfield was home when police arrived and found her in her own bed. They said she had injuries that appeared to be bite marks on her right arm. Officers also found a pair of scissors with blood on them on Sanders-Campfield's bed.

Sanders-Campfield appeared via closed-circuit TV in Rockville District Court for a bond review Wednesday. A social worker said she was in a catatonic state in jail and recommended she be sent for a psychiatric evaluation.

The victim and the suspect were living in a condo provided to them by Housing Unlimited, Inc., a group that provides housing and services for people with mental illnesses.

"We are deeply saddened by the death of our tenant Chong Park," said Housing Unlimited CEO Abe Schuchman in a statement. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the Park family at this time. Housing Unlimited has served hundreds of individuals over the years. The death of Ms. Park is the only incident of this nature in our 20 years of operation."

Schuchman said Park had been Housing Unlimited had provided housing for Park since July 2006, and called her "a model tenant -- caring, conscientious, warm, friendly, and well-liked by all."

Anyone with information about the suspect or the case is asked to call the Montgomery County Police Department's Major Crimes Division at 240-773-5070.