"Him and Lonnie were just sitting out there laughing and joking just like they always do," explained Jewett resident David Foley.

But just after midnight Friday, the mood at Foley's party suddenly went from one extreme to another.

“Tim got pretty irate,” explained Foley. “There wasn't any way to get the bleeding to stop.”

David Foley says he still doesn't understand why.

"Tim's a big ol' boy," Foley said. "He didn't have to stab him."

But Foley believes his friend 44-year-old Timothy Sheridan suddenly snapped.

“Tim got mad because Lonnie was abusive to his girlfriend, and he was trying to pull her off the couch," explained Foley.

That anger was taken out in Foley's front yard just after midnight Friday -- where he says Sheridan grabbed a knife and stabbed his nephew, 30-year-old Lonnie Shoop, in the chest.

“I went down here and tried to put pressure on it, but it was too late; there was nothing we could do,” explained Foley.

Lonnie Shoop was pronounced dead at the scene; and although it's unclear what exactly prompted the fatal stabbing, authorities do believe alcohol played a pivotal role.

“When he was sitting there crying, I knew right then and there it had hit him; he realized what he had done,” added Foley.

Sheridan has a lengthy criminal history involving DWI and possession of a controlled substance; and according to DPS records, the 44-year-old was out on parole, which would have expired in 2014. He remains in the Leon County Jail on $100,000 bond.