Woman airlifted after stabbing self numerous times Tuesday

A Williamsburg woman was flown to Knoxville after stabbing herself in the chest Tuesday afternoon.

Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird said that about 12:30 p.m., Tina Lawson, 44, stabbed herself multiple times in the chest with a knife, but said officials haven’t received an official report from medical officials in terms of how many times she was stabbed.

"I know there was one pretty serious stab wound to the chest. I think there were a couple of more. I don’t know how serious they were," Bird said.

Whitley County EMS treated her at the scene. An emergency landing zone was set up at the Whitley County High School soccer fields where an Air Evac Lifeteam helicopter landed. She was flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for treatment.

No one else was injured during the incident.

Lawson didn’t make any statements to police.

Police interviewed witnesses at the scene that actually saw Lawson stab herself including family members.

Bird said that Lawson apparently stabbed herself over marital and family issues.

"She had made some threats of suicide previously. She pulled out a knife and stabbed herself in the chest," Bird said.

The self-inflicted stabbing took place at the Sunshine Valley Estates home of Lawson’s sister, Vicki Paul.

Paul, a former head bookkeeper at the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in London on May 19 to conspiracy to commit money laundering and allegations that she helped former Sheriff Lawrence Hodge embezzle funds from the office.

She is scheduled for formal sentencing on Sept. 1 before U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, and could receive up to 10 years in prison.