EVANSVILLE – An Evansville man has been arrested after police say he fatally stabbed a motel employee he said tried to sexually assault his girlfriend.

Dewayne Bruce Whitney Jr., 36, was booked into the Vanderburgh County jail Saturday night and preliminarily charged with murder. According to the affidavit filed in the case, Whitney told both an Evansville firefighter on scene and an EPD detective that he “did it.” He later described the knife and said it was lying on the floorboard of his car.

Evansville police identify the employee in the affidavit, but since the coroner’s office hadn’t notified next of kin as of Sunday morning, the Courier & Press isn’t naming him here.

Detectives and first responders arrived at the Esquire Inn in the 1800 block of Old Business 41 just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday. A 911 caller had told dispatchers her ex-boyfriend was in the motel’s office bleeding from his chest.

The man was unresponsive when police arrived, the affidavit states, and was ultimately taken to Deaconess Midtown, where he died.

A detective later found Whitney sitting in the front seat of a Toyota Yaris.

“As (the detective) was approaching the scene, a firefighter with the Evansville Fire Department tells him that Whitney told him that he did it,” the affidavit states.

During an interview at EPD headquarters, Whitney reportedly told investigators that he walked into his girlfriend’s room at the Esquire earlier that night and found the motel employee in the room “fixing his pants” and assumed something had been going on. The employee and Whitney’s girlfriend were previously together, police wrote.

What the affidavit says

The woman, who the Courier & Press isn’t naming here since she isn’t charged with a crime, reportedly told investigators that the employee had attempted to sexually assault her. She said he texted her a few minutes before the stabbing and “demanded” that she go to her room at the Esquire.

She said he later entered the room and reportedly pushed her against the wall and shoved his hand down her pants. He then reportedly forced her onto the bed and tried to get her to perform a sex act. When she wouldn’t, he went into the bathroom.

That’s when Whitney entered the room, the affidavit states. After the two men argued and chest-bumped, the employee left. Whitney and the woman then drove to the Esquire office.

Detectives obtained surveillance footage from the office. In it, Whitney reportedly punches and shatters a plexiglass pane near the counter and walks behind the desk. The employee tries to stop him, and Whitney then grabs him by the throat before getting pushed away.

“At this time Whitney is seen pulling something from his waist and going back toward (the employee),” the affidavit states. “There is a struggle in the corner of the room and (the employee) is seen walking back behind the counter. (The employee) is seen raising his hand and blood can be seen on his hands.

“(The employee) then collapses on the ground.”

No new case for Whitney had been entered into court records as of Sunday morning. According to the Vanderburgh County jail website, he’s currently being held without bond.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Police: Evansville man accused of murder after fatal stabbing at motel