Woman threatens man with gun, stabs him in Christmas Eve attack, Brevard deputies say

Melissa Liput, 30, faces an attempted murder charge

Melissa Liput, 30 (Copyright 2021 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

COCOA, Fla. – A woman faces an attempted murder charge after she threatened a man with a gun and stabbed him in the leg multiple times after he refused to spend Christmas Eve with her, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies arrested Melissa Liput, 30, on Friday after she called the sheriff’s office claiming that she had been the victim of a crime, according to the probable cause affidavit.

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Investigators said when they arrived at her home along Citrus Boulevard in Cocoa, they found Liput with a gunshot wound. The woman was taken to the hospital, but would not cooperate with deputies as they tried to figure out what happened to her, records show.

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At the same time, deputies were called to a home on Mauna Loa Court on Merritt Island where a man was being treated by a friend who is a nurse for multiple stab wounds. The man said that he had been dating Liput for six months and had gone to her home to pick up some of his belongings, according to deputies.

The victim said he suspected that something might happen, so he brought a friend who waited in the truck while he went into Liput’s home, the affidavit said.

The man claimed Liput had welcomed him into her home but became upset when he said he would not be spending the evening, records show. Liput then pointed a gun at the victim’s head, according to deputies.

The man told investigators that Liput had her finger on the trigger and that she is also a combat veteran, putting him in fear for his life, records show.

Deputies said the two struggled as the man tried to get the gun away from Liput. During the fight, the man was stabbed in the leg and arm multiple times and the gun went off, investigators said.

The man said he then took the gun and ran from the home, the affidavit reads. His friend then drove him to the nurse’s home where deputies found him, according to investigators.

Liput faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, felony battery domestic violence and aggravated assault domestic violence.


About the Author

Thomas Mates is a digital storyteller for News 6 and ClickOrlando.com. He also produces the podcast Florida Foodie. Thomas is originally from Northeastern Pennsylvania and worked in Portland, Oregon before moving to Central Florida in August 2018. He graduated from Temple University with a degree in Journalism in 2010.