Missing wife of murdered man found uninjured

She was kidnapped, her mother says, by the man charged in her husband's shooting death.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET, Times Staff Writer
Published December 10, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Timothy Craig Blackwelder, 24, of Tampa is being held on charges of murder and attempted burglary.

TAMPA - A missing 22-year-old woman returned home uninjured Sunday after police arrested the man they said murdered her husband and may have kidnapped her at gunpoint.

Georgia authorities arrested Timothy Craig Blackwelder, 24, of Tampa on charges of murder and attempted burglary late Saturday, according to Tampa police. They found Brittani Stewart, 22, with him.

Tampa police detectives are scheduled to meet with prosecutors today to discuss possible kidnapping charges.

On Friday, police found Brittani Stewart's husband, George Anthony Stewart, 24, shot dead inside a Sitka Street home. Brittani Stewart was missing, and policeidentified Blackwelder as a suspect in her husband's murder.

On Sunday evening, Brittani Stewart's mother, Kim Tibby, said Blackwelder kidnapped her daughter at gunpoint Friday and continued to threaten her as they drove north Saturday, even following her with a gun into women's restrooms at rest stops.

Tibby said her daughter had returned home safely but was not available for comment.

She described a long history of abuse and threats between Blackwelder and Brittani Stewart, who first dated when they were in school about a decade ago.

"He's totally, utterly obsessed with her," Tibby said. "The only reason why she had anything to do with him was because he threatened to kill me. He said he would kill me or he would kill her."

In the past, she said, the family has disconnected its phone in response to harassment from Blackwelder.

Even after Blackwelder went to prison more than seven years ago on charges of attempted robbery with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft, Tibby said he continued to try to contact her daughter.

After he was released from prison in January, Blackwelder started contacting Brittani Stewart again, Tibby said. In November, she said, her daughter filed a domestic violence injunction against him after he tried to smother her with a pillow.

On Friday, Blackwelder burst into the Sitka Street home where Brittani Stewart lives.

George Stewart, who had been living with his brother since the couple separated, was there visiting his wife and children. He was blocking a doorway to protect his wife, Tibby said, when Blackwelder opened fire.

Their toddler twins slept in a nearby bedroom and were unharmed, Tibby said.

Blackwelder was in the Lowndes County Jail without bail late Sunday evening. Tampa police interviewed Brittani Stewart and Blackwelder in Valdosta, Ga., but have not released details about his arrest.

Tibby said authorities apprehended Blackwelder after someone wired him money from South Carolina on Saturday.

"Hopefully, he won't see the light of day again," she said.

Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 813 661-2454.

[Last modified December 9, 2007, 22:48:17]