Pocono News Section

Stabbing Victim Dies; Friend Talks to Eyewitness News

Stabbing Victim Dies; Friend Talks to Eyewitness News - Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 2:28PM EST

Reported by: Kyla Campbell
Sunday, Sep 20, 2009 @ 02:28pm EDT

TUNKHANNOCK TOWNSHIP, MONROE COUNTY -- Eyewitness News firs told you Saturday night about a stabbing in the Poconos from earlier in the day. Police now say the victim, 18-year-old Christopher Hernandez, died overnight. They've charged 29-year-old Philip Joseph "PJ" Vonville of Blakeslee in the deadly stabbing. Vonville'x ex-fiance tells us she watched the tragedy play out.

"I wouldn't have expected it at all," said Brittany Hartley, who watched her ex-fiance stab her friend Saturday. "[Chris and I] went to high school together."

Hartley says she and Hernandez became friends at Pocono Mountain West High School, where he was on the wrestling team and she was the team manager.

Hartley and Vonville were engaged, but she ended their relationship this week. Police say Vonville admitted he was distraught over the break-up. Vonville showed up at her family's home in the Pocono Plateau Park Saturday. Hartley's mom called her and asked her to come home. When she and Hernandez arrived, Vonville attacked.

Police say Vonville busted out the window of the pick-up truck they were in and stabbed Hernandez in the chest. Then, Vonville stabbed himself in the stomach and slit his wrists. He's expected to recover.

Hartley says Hernandez moved to New York after graduating from Pocono Mountain West, but his mother still lives in the area.

"We're all very upset," said Hartley. "I feel really bad for the family. They didn't know he was in the area. He just came down for the night to visit."

Pocono Mountain Regional Police tell us Vonville is in the hospital undergoing a mental evaluation and treatment for his self-inflicted stab wounds. They say Vonville was arraigned on criminal homicide charges while in the hospital Sunday.