A man is accused of fatally stabbing his wife less than two hours into the new year.
Erica Renae Sherwood, 21, died at a Woodbridge home where she had been visiting an acquaintance.
Prince William Police say the acquaintance was asleep at the home in the 15100 block of Concord Drive when she awoke and heard screaming. She told police she saw Sherwood's husband, 22-year-old John Sherwood, chasing his wife inside the house.
Police say that during the altercation, John Sherwood repeatedly stabbed his wife in the upper body, and at one point, struck the acquaintance in the face.
The acquaintance ran to a neighbor's home, where they called police.
Authorities responded around 1:33 a.m. Thursday. Erica Sherwood, a Triangle resident, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police say John Sherwood had gone to the home to speak with his wife about an ongoing dispute, which led to a verbal altercation and then the physical attack.
After the stabbing, police say he tried to escape in a vehicle but crashed into a tree near Concord Drive and Cloverdale Road, at which point he tried to run.
Authorities used a K-9 and helicopter from Fairfax County Police, and found him in a wooded area on Neabsco Mills Road, where John Sherwood was arrested.
He has been charged with murder and assault and battery, and is being held without bond.
A court date is pending.
Police said the case is Prince William County's first homicide of 2015.
