Reported argument over cat with roommate leads to fatal stabbing of nursing student
Reported argument over cat with roommate leads to fatal stabbing of nursing student The nursing student, who went by Tami Dollars on TikTok, died days before she was set to graduate from university, according to a GoFundMe created for her funeral.
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper and DNA: New tech solving murders
From Ted Bundy to Jack the Ripper, new DNA technology is solving murder mysteries, finding serial killers, and exonerating innocents.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
A man is accused of fatally stabbing his roommate, a British nursing student and content creator, over two dozen times at their Houston apartment, authorities say. The incident reportedly stemmed from an argument over his cat.
Chester Lamar Grant, 40, was charged with murder on May 3 after Houston police found Elizabeth Tamilore Odunsi, 23, on her apartment's kitchen floor suffering from 28 stab wounds, Harris County court records say.
Before finding Odunsi, officers were called to check on the apartment around 3:50 p.m. on April 26, Houston police said. When officers knocked on the door and did not receive an answer, they noticed blood on the rear concrete patio, prompting them to enter the apartment, according to the department.
When officers saw Odunsi on the kitchen floor with multiple stab wounds, they also found Grant in a bedroom with at least one stab wound, police said. Paramedics pronounced Odunsi dead at the scene, while Grant was taken to a hospital in critical condition, the department added.
Argument over cat reportedly led to Grant allegedly killing Odunsi
A Harris County judge gave Grant a $500,000 bond, court records show. During the bond hearing, the judge commented on why Grant got the bond he did, including what led to his alleged actions.
"The allegations in this case allege he stabbed his female roommate 28 times, killing her over some disagreement over his cat," the judge said, per KHOU and ABC 13 reported. "So, this is an allegedly extremely brutal murder with an extensive history of violence, which I find to be an extreme danger to the community."
According to county court records, Grant has multiple convictions in Washington state for domestic violence, with his most recent being on Sept. 6, 2023.
USA TODAY contacted Grant's defense attorney on May 6 but has not received a response. His next court hearing is scheduled for May 7.
'A beautiful soul, full of light, ambition, and kindness'
A GoFundMe was started for Odunsi, who was known on TikTok as Tami Dollars or "TD," and it describes the nursing student as a "beloved sister, daughter, and friend."
"Tami was a beautiful soul, full of light, ambition, and kindness. She was just 23 years old," the fundraiser page reads. "A devoted Christian, she was a God-fearing young woman who found strength and joy in her faith. She had a deep love for her church community, where she was actively involved and always eager to serve others with humility and grace."
According to the GoFundMe page, Odunsi moved from the United Kingdom to the U.S. to "pursue her dream of becoming a nurse." Her death came days before she was set to graduate from university, the page says.
"An unimaginable loss at a moment that should have marked the beginning of a bright and promising future," the fundraiser says. "Tami touched so many lives in her short time here."
So far, the page has surpassed its goal of £40,000 and raised over £65,000. The money will go toward bringing Odunsi home from the U.S. to the UK so "she can be laid to rest surrounded by her family and loved ones."
Tami Dollars has over 48,000 TikTok followers
Odunsi's Tami Dollars TikTok account has over 48,000 followers, with her posts consistently getting hundreds of thousands of views.
Her final post came on April 21, and it included text that read: "23 year old BSN grad in 2 weeks. Vacations booked. Summer is 14 days away. Starting to look human again." The caption for the post says, "I'm readyyyyyyyyyyyyy #nursingstudent #nursegraduate #tamidollars."
Odunsi's other recent posts prior to her death involved her giving advice to other nursing students, including what they should do before graduating, such as researching places they'd like to work.
Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at JLimehouse@gannett.com.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bay Area woman caught using n-word in viral TikTok: ‘I'm not racist'
(KRON) — Last month, a woman was caught on camera yelling a racial slur toward two Black men in the Sonoma County city of Healdsburg. The video has been viewed by millions of people in a now-viral TikTok video. The woman at the center of the video reached out to KRON4 and spoke out for the first time since it went viral. In the video, the woman was yelling at two Black men who were moving furniture in her North Bay neighborhood. The white woman with blonde hair in the video is Caleigh Buchignani. She has now left the state and dyed her hair purple to avoid being recognized. KRON4 spoke with Buchignani to see what she had to say about the video, which has now been viewed more than 2 million times since being posted on May 23. 'I'm sorry for what I said. I'm sorry I wanted to hurt you, but it's not because I'm a horrible person, it's because I have been struggling recently,' she said over Zoom with a new hairdo since the viral video. Buchignani said she received death threats and had people harass her about what she said in the video. She added that even her parents are getting phone calls. Who was Harvey Milk? Late SF gay rights icon at center of ship renaming controversy 'I had to change my number, turn off all social media. I had people calling me, giving me death threats,' Buchignani said. 'Multiple people a day calling me, harassing me, telling me what a horrible person I am. My parents still get phone calls.' The video was recorded by a Black man who was moving furniture in Buchignani's Healdsburg neighborhood. In the video, she yells at one of the movers to move his truck — before walking back to her car and yelling a racial slur. 'I think a simple 'Can you move your truck, please?' would have sufficed,' one of the movers told the woman in the video just before she used the racial slur. KRON4 asked Buchignani if the N-word is something she says often. 'No I do not. I grew up with a lot of Black people, and with the music we listen to, sure, maybe in a different form,' Buchignani said. 'Do I say it that way? No, I don't. It was merely just: he hurt me, and I wanted to hurt him. It had nothing to do with me being racist.' Keonta Gilmer was the mover inside the truck, saying that acts of racism are nothing new to him. In an interview with KRON4 last week, he said he was glad that this moment was caught on camera. 'You do have that somebody gets held accountable for once. Unfortunately for me, it's not the first interaction we've had in which I've been called this slur or dealt with situations like this,' Gilmer said. Buchignani said she messaged the movers apologizing and asking that the video be taken down, but never got an answer. The message was later screenshotted and put online (see below). Long lines pack outside of beloved Antioch prime rib restaurant closing after 42 years Buchignani said this incident has caused her entire life to turn upside down. 'I have lost my family, my friends, my job, my partner, my stepdaughter. Like I have lost my entire life because my apology wasn't good enough,' she said. Buchignani said she has dealt with mental health issues for most of her life — adding she is bipolar, not racist. 'I think it is important that people with mental health (issues) are heard,' Buchignani said. 'We don't talk about this in our society. It's shameful.' When given the opportunity to say something directly to the movers, she apologized for taking a bad day out on them. 'So I apologize for anything that I said that hurt you,' Buchignani said, directing the message to the movers. 'I hope that in the future, if anything like this happens, you'll think twice about ruining somebody's life over a bad day.' KRON4 has reached out to the two men in the TikTok video to get their reaction to Buchignani's comments. We will update the story when we hear back. (Watch KRON4's exclusive interview with Caleigh Buchignani in the player above) Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hamilton Spectator
18 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Brazilian prosecutors charge man accused of ordering high-profile killing in Amazon region
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian prosecutors filed criminal charges Thursday against the man accused of ordering the 2022 killings of Indigenous peoples advocate Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips in the Amazon. Ruben Dario Villar, a Colombian fish trader, was formally accused by Brazilian police last November of being the person who planned the slaying. Phillips and Pereira went missing exactly three years ago, on June 5, 2022. Phillips was shot and killed while researching an ambitious book on how to protect the world's largest rainforest, which was finished and recently published in Brazil by his family and friends. 'How to Save the Amazon' is scheduled to be published in the U.S. on June 10. The book was pieced together by fellow journalists who immersed themselves in Phillips' notes, outlines and the handful of chapters he'd already written. In a statement Thursday, federal prosecutors said 'Bruno and Dom were assaulted and murdered for a vile — despicable, perverse — reason, in a cruel manner, without any chance of defense.' According to the police investigation, Villar financed an illegal fishing operation inside the Javari Valley Indigenous Territories, where thousands of Indigenous people live, including the world's largest concentration of uncontacted groups. The murders were motivated by Pereira's efforts to monitor and enforce environmental laws in the region, police said. He has been in jail since 2022 and has denied any wrongdoing. The Associated Press was unable to reach his legal representatives for comment. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
18 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Search group warns against fake fundraisers exploiting two children missing in N.S.
HALIFAX - Nova Scotia search and rescue organizations are warning the public about fundraisers claiming they'll use donated cash to search for two missing children. Paul Service, director of Halifax Search and Rescue, said in an interview Thursday that one GoFundMe campaign attempted to raise $100,000 to fund a drone to search for four-year-old Jack Sullivan and six-year-old Lilly Sullivan. The campaign stated 'any unused funds will go to Halifax Search and Rescue or other active missing children searches.' Service said the non-profit, volunteer group didn't authorize that statement, doesn't normally request donations through GoFundMe and doesn't base its fundraising campaigns on particular searches. 'We would never tie in a fundraising effort to a specific search,' he said. A large-scale search was launched for the two children after they disappeared on May 2 in Lansdowne Station, N.S., and there have been two, smaller efforts since then involving volunteer searchers. To date, there have been no signs of the children despite hundreds of ground search and rescue teams combing through the densely wooded area. The teams also used helicopters, drones and thermal imaging technologies. On Tuesday, the volunteer group put out a warning on Facebook and other social media about 'fraudulent individuals and organizations impersonating us and soliciting money for searches.' Service said a representative from GoFundMe contacted him to say it was taking down the site and investigating after the campaign was reported on CBC. He said that it is disheartening for his group to have to cope with scams, since it may discourage the public from donating to his group's legitimate fundraising efforts. 'It's discouraging from our point of view because there are ... search and rescue teams in Nova Scotia that could all use donations to help keep their teams going or help buy additional equipment,' he said. 'These (false fundraising campaigns) challenge the legitimacy of all of the other fundraisers that the teams are doing and the good work those teams do.' Service said his group is hearing reports of some people receiving telephone calls soliciting funds to help in the search for the children. On May 31, the Pictou County Volunteer Ground Search and Rescue posted warnings telling its supporters it doesn't use telemarketing to seek donations. 'We had someone reach out saying they had been approached to give their credit card over the phone to donate to 'help save children,'' the organization warned in an online posting. Service said for people who want to donate to his organization, 'the safest way is to ... contact us directly,' on the group's website. He said his group receives close to $110,000 from the municipality and fundraises or seeks donations for about $40,000 to help meet an annual budget. 'Between April 1 and June 4, we've contributed over 4,000 hours of volunteer time responding to incidents,' said Service, adding this season has been among the busiest on record for ground search and rescue efforts in Halifax County. GoFundMe did not respond to a request for comment. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
