Man throws himself in front of train after stabbing three people, including his baby son

Marlene Naanes:

A Cooper City man stabbed his girlfriend, their infant son, and his girlfriend's brother Thursday morning, then fled from the couple's home to Miami, where he threw himself in front of a train in an attempted suicide, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.

Cedrick Terrell Bethel lost at least one leg under the train's wheels, the Sheriff's Office said, and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where his condition was withheld.

"This was a vicious, brutal, violent attack," said Sheriff's Office spokesman Hugh Graf. "It was a bloody scene."

Graf said Bethel, 24, used a butcher knife when he attacked his live-in girlfriend, Tika Jones, his son, Cedrick Bethel Jr., and Jones's brother Willie, who lives with the couple in their Cooper City duplex, shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday.

Police don't know what sparked the attack, but Jones's family said he was a controlling boyfriend who constantly asked where she went.

"All she asked for was space," said her stepfather, Levi Smith. "We've talked to him about it on several occasions. We said, `Ya'll both got a bright future and a lot to live for.'"

The attack on Jones, 21, woke her brother, 22, who tried to stop Bethel but was also stabbed, a report said. The baby, who is 20 months old, was also stabbed, but investigators do not know whether he was stabbed before his mother.

Bethel fled from the scene in his car, Graf said.

Jones' family members in the duplex's adjacent unit called 911. The victims were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital, where Cedrick Bethel Jr. was in critical condition, his mother was in serious condition and his uncle was in fair condition Thursday night.

About 90 minutes after the attack, Bethel ditched his car and went to a railroad track near Northwest 75th Street and Northwest 32nd Avenue in Miami, Graf said.

Investigators believe Tika Jones did nothing to prompt Bethel's assault.

Jones graduated from the Miami Police Academy on Tuesday and was waiting to be sworn in, said Lt. William Schwartz. Jones' father has been a Miami police officer for more than 20 years and her stepmother is a patrol officer on the same force.

Bethel was just a quiet guy who has now ruined the lives of many people, Smith said.

"He had a beautiful child and a prosperous woman," Smith said. "I just don't understand."

Police are looking for Bethel's car, a red or burgundy 2003 Chevy Impala with license plate number U462ER. Anyone who sees this vehicle should call Broward Sheriff's Office detectives at 954-321-4210 or their local police department.

Girlfriend, tot stabbed in a rage, cops say