NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Virginia man is accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend for talking to another man.

The Daily Press cites court documents that say 43-year-old Lawrence Roosevelt Smith told police he “only wanted to scare” 39-year-old Laquita M. Ball, who he overheard talking on the phone with another man.

Newport News police responding to Ball’s children’s report of a stabbing Sunday evening found her with multiple wounds. She later died at a hospital.

Later that night, Smith’s relative called police to say Smith wanted to turn himself in. He agreed to be interviewed by police, telling a detective he “poked her” in the shower with a knife, which he said broke. He then left the apartment.

Smith is charged with first-degree murder. It’s unclear whether he has a lawyer.