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Left inset: Ruben Whitworth (Broward County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Jordan Dowdy (GoFundMe). Background: The One Hope United boys group home in Oakland Park, Fla., where Ruben Whitworth is accused of stabbing and killing Jordan Dowdy (WPLG/YouTube).
A teenager from Florida is facing adult criminal charges for allegedly stabbing a 14-year-old during a dispute over a PlayStation at the group home they shared, law enforcement reports.
On Thursday, Ruben Whitworth, 16, was detained and charged with second-degree murder with a weapon related to the incident on August 25, which resulted in the death of Jordan Dowdy. Dowdy was discovered fatally injured that Monday afternoon at a location on the 5400 block of Northeast Third Avenue in Oakland Park, as stated by local authorities.
Jordan Dowdy’s mother shared with FOX and ABC partner WSVN that her son had previous issues with Whitworth, which had led to threats against Dowdy, she mentioned.
“Jordan once asked him, ‘Ruben, would you like some mozzarella sticks?’ and Ruben responded, ‘No, shut the ‘F’ up, or I’m going to stab you and kill you,'” recounted Tiffany Simpson to WSVN regarding the past interactions between Dowdy and Whitworth.
“Two weeks later, he ended up dead,” Simpson said.
According to the authorities, a caretaker was present at the One Hope United foster home and witnessed the two teenagers engaged in a fight before the stabbing occurred right in front of her.
“I need paramedics immediately,” the caretaker said, according to WSVN. “Where was he stabbed?” a dispatcher asked.
“I don’t see the knife right now, I had to break it up and I had to get involved with this situation,” the caretaker said. “Talk to me. Are you with me?” the caretaker can be heard saying to Dowdy, per WSVN.
Broward County court records describe Dowdy’s murder as “dangerous,” “depraved,” and without “premeditation,” according to ABC affiliate WPLG.
Bobbie L. Pecora, a neighbor of the group home, told the outlet that she met the teen earlier this year and had a conversation with him. “I said, ‘Hey, you are new over there. How is everything going?’ And he said, ‘It’s scary!'” Pecora recalled.
“He was terrorized before he was murdered,” Pecora alleged, claiming she saw cops at the home multiple times in relation to events involving Dowdy.
“The kid kept threatening him,” Simpson told WSVN. “I expressed to multiple people who were here within the home with him.”
Whitworth is reportedly scheduled to appear in court later this month. He is being held at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale without bond.
