Mean Girl Murders: Clash of the Coeds features the case of Tina Stewart, who was murdered by her roommate, Shanterrica Madden, in their home at Raiders Ridge Apartments in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Stewart, 21, and Madden, then 18, graduated from Central High School in Memphis, and they received a scholarship to attend Middle Tennessee State University.
Madden was a freshman at MTSU, studying political science with a double minor in criminal justice and psychology. She had dreams of becoming an attorney.
Stewart was a Lady Raiders basketball player and a junior at MTSU.
Both women were the first in their families to attend college, and because of their similar backgrounds, they were chosen to live together.
Two weeks after moving into their apartment on Hazelwood Street, tension began to form.
According to Steward and Madden’s friends, they would constantly bicker. Stewart complained that Madden wouldn’t clean up after herself, and she would notice that some of the groceries she had purchased were missing.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelMadden complained that Stewart’s boyfriend, known as K.C., would constantly show up at the apartment. One day, when Madden thought she was alone, she came out of the bathroom in a towel, and Stewart’s boyfriend was there.
“It was disturbing,” said Madden’s friend.
When Madden told her mother about how Stewart’s boyfriend frequented the apartment that she had co-signed for, her mother contacted the property manager.
She wanted to schedule a mediation because Madden and Stewart couldn’t switch housing. Due to Stewart’s busy schedule, the mediation never happened.
And the arguing continued.
Shanterrica Madden stabbed Tina Stewart in their apartment
On March 2, 2011, Madden and her friend thought they were in the apartment alone when they decided to smoke marijuana. Stewart noticed the smell and called 911 from her bedroom.
When officers arrived, they gave Madden a warning. As soon as they left, Madden went to Stewart’s bedroom to confront her, and a fight ensued.
Madden’s friend said she heard the two women fighting, but it stopped after she heard, “My head, my head.”
Moments later, Madden emerged from Stewart’s bedroom and closed the door behind her. When her friend noticed she had something in her hand, she left the apartment.
Later that night, Stewart’s boyfriend began calling her phone, but he said someone was pressing the ignore button. Then he suddenly received a text message that said, “Don’t come, I’m in the shower.”
K.C. thought it was odd, so he went to Stewart’s apartment. Upon arrival, Madden told him that she wasn’t there, but he made his way inside and went to Stewart’s bedroom.
There, he found Stewart on the floor; she was covered in blood.
Stewart was rushed to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Shanterrica Madden claimed self-defense in stabbing death of roommate
Madden testified that when she went into Stewart’s bedroom, they argued. As she turned around, trying to leave, she said Stewart pushed her.
That’s when she said they started fighting.
During the fight, Madden, who did not have a criminal record before the incident, said she feared for her life as Stewart was hurting her. To defend herself, she reached for a knife and stabbed her.
Instead of calling 911 for help, Madden took Stewart’s phone and sent text messages to her boyfriend and friends so no one would come to the apartment.
She then wrapped the knife in a blanket and threw it in a dumpster.
In 2012, a jury rejected her self-defense claim, and she was found guilty of second-degree murder.
Where is Shanterrica Madden now?
A judge sentenced Madden to 25 years in prison with an additional four years for tampering with evidence.
Madden filed several appeals, but they were denied.
She is currently housed at the West Tennessee State Penitentiary in Henning, Tennessee.
Mean Girl Murders: Clash of the Coeds premieres Monday, April 17 at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.