A 32-year-old woman is jailed on a murder charge after police say she admitted stabbing her uncle in the chest during a dispute at a shared home the day after Christmas. Officers found 54-year-old Tony Vernon Graham dying just after noon on Dec. 26 at a house in the 3400 block of Wade Avenue and later arrested his niece, Ashley Marie Siebenaller.
Authorities said the killing followed an argument over household demands inside a multi-tenant residence near the city’s cultural district. According to a sworn arrest affidavit, Siebenaller told detectives her uncle had locked her out earlier and then told her she “needed to start cooking,” which “pissed her off.” Investigators say she first denied any role, then confessed during a follow-up interview four days later. The case has shaken roommates who described a crowded living arrangement where the pair slept in the living room of a home leased by another tenant. Siebenaller is being held at the Tarrant County Jail; a bond had not been set as of Tuesday.
Police were dispatched around 12:18 p.m. on Dec. 26 after a 911 call reported a stabbing. Officers arrived to find Graham on the living room floor with a single wound to the chest and a knife on a nearby couch, according to the affidavit. Siebenaller sat next to the blade and appeared nonverbal, responding in writing that she did not know what happened, the report states. Witnesses who also lived in the house told officers they heard an argument moments before the attack. In a Dec. 30 interview, detectives said Siebenaller spoke normally and eventually acknowledged stabbing Graham near the couch and watching him collapse by the doorway. She said the disagreement centered on chores and being locked out of the home earlier that day.
Investigators wrote that Siebenaller claimed Graham stabbed her in the mouth first. Detectives said they saw no injuries to support that claim on the day of the killing or during a later visit. The affidavit says Siebenaller described the confrontation beginning in the living room, where both relatives had been sleeping on separate setups amid other tenants’ rooms. Officers documented blood on the floor and recovered the knife for forensic testing. Fort Worth Fire Department medics pronounced Graham dead at the scene. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the exact cause and manner of death; as of Tuesday, those findings had not been released.
Roommates told investigators the house is rented room-by-room, with a primary leaseholder subletting spaces and the common areas often crowded. The address sits in a tight grid of bungalows and duplexes just west of downtown, where midday foot traffic and delivery vans are common. Neighbors described hearing sirens and seeing patrol cars block the street as detectives and crime-scene technicians moved inside with evidence bags. One nearby resident said officers asked for any exterior camera footage between noon and 1 p.m. to verify the timeline of movements around the front door and side yard.
The affidavit outlines a brief and lethal encounter: an argument, a single chest wound, and a discovery moments later by witnesses who were told to call 911. Officers said Siebenaller initially communicated by writing on paper, indicating she could not speak, but spoke clearly days later when detectives returned. She allegedly recounted being locked out earlier and being told to cook, phrases investigators quoted in their report. Police said they will compare her account with physical evidence, including blood spatter, fingerprints on the knife, and any touch DNA on surfaces in the living room.
Documents reviewed by reporters say officers returned to the address on Jan. 2 after a roommate reported that Siebenaller was standing outside his bedroom door holding a knife and that he was “concerned for everyone’s safety.” She was taken into custody this week without incident and booked Monday on one count of murder. Officials did not say whether prior disturbance calls had been made to the home before Dec. 26. Because the property operates as a rooming-style rental, detectives are also checking leasing records and interviewing the primary tenant about who had access to common areas and knives kept near the kitchen and living room.
The case arrives during a busy holiday stretch for Fort Worth homicide detectives and underscores, officials said, how fast routine disputes can turn deadly. While detectives cautioned that motive statements are allegations contained in an affidavit, they said the quotes help establish probable cause while laboratory work proceeds. Investigators are awaiting results from the medical examiner and from the police lab’s testing of the recovered knife. Those findings typically inform charge decisions and any later plea discussions. Prosecutors in Tarrant County often present homicide cases to a grand jury after receiving autopsy reports and a preliminary lab summary.
Graham’s relatives did not immediately release a public statement. Friends described him to officers as a hard worker who had moved into the Wade Avenue house to save money. The block is a mix of older homes and small rentals, and several neighbors said they were surprised to learn that multiple adults were sharing common space inside. By Tuesday afternoon, a small bouquet sat near the front step. A resident across the street, who said he has lived in the area for a decade, called the midday scene “jarring” for a neighborhood more used to traffic noise from the nearby corridor than crime tape at lunchtime.
Procedurally, Siebenaller will make an initial court appearance once a date is set and may request a bond hearing. If the medical examiner rules the death a homicide by stab wound, prosecutors could proceed with the murder count as charged or adjust based on additional evidence. Defense counsel had not been listed in online court records by late Tuesday. Standard steps ahead include audio and transcript collection from 911 calls, additional interviews with roommates, and review of any phone messages that could shed light on the argument leading up to the stabbing. Police said they are also checking for prior protective orders or calls for service tied to the address.
By evening, the block had reopened to traffic. A faint stain was visible on the walkway, and a porch light burned over the front door. “It’s sad. It was the holidays,” a neighbor said, declining to give her name. Another man who rents nearby said he often sees tenants come and go from houses like this one. “People share space to save money. But you don’t expect this,” he said. Detectives plan to return for follow-up measurements as lab results come in and will update the case status after the medical examiner’s office issues its report.
As of Tuesday night, Siebenaller remained in the Tarrant County Jail without bond. Authorities said the next public milestone is the release of autopsy findings and scheduling of an initial court date, expected in the coming days.
Author note: Last updated January 7, 2026.