Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a residence on Houmas Street in Donaldsonville on Tuesday, January 14, shortly after 10 p.m. in reference to a stabbing.

According to Sheriff Bobby Webre, deputies located the victim, later identified as 51-year-old David Ealem, lying on the ground unresponsive. Ealem was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

As the investigation continued, detectives arrived on scene and learned that the suspect, Samuel Gray Jr., attacked Ealem as an altercation ensued for unknown reasons, stabbing him that left him unresponsive.

Gray Jr., 39, of Donaldsonville, was located and arrested on a second-degree murder charge on Wednesday, January 15, shortly before 10 a.m. and transported to the Ascension Parish Jail where no bond has been set yet.