Man charged with murder in South Austin stabbing

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Austin police have charged a man with murder after they said he stabbed two people , killing one of the men, at a South Austin hotel, according to an arrest affidavit.

According to witnesses, a fight broke out after an argument over missing cell phones escalated in the early morning hours of Feb. 27.

According to the affidavit, Arthur Davis, 35, stabbed Mark Ramirez Jr., 21, and Robert Manning, 22, at the Country Garden Inn & Suites on Interstate 35 between Woodward and Oltorf streets.

Hotel has seen its share of violence:

• Crime statistics
• Officer-involved shooting
   

Ramirez and Manning were both transported to University Medical Center Brackenridge, where Manning pronounced dead.

According to the affidavit, Ramirez invited a friend to come to the hotel and several others showed up as well. Later in the night, Ramirez and Manning discovered their cell phones were missing and questioned the group.

A man who admitted to taking the phones became aggressive, Ramirez said, and a fight ensued. Ramirez said he ended up on the floor and the fight lasted about one minute.

The document noted that Ramirez told detectives he remembered hearing Manning say, “You stabbed me?”

The affidavit said witnesses were able to pick Davis out of a photographic lineup as the man who stabbed Manning.