Michael Egwuagu, 25, was naked when he was taken into custody on Friday outside victim Jennifer Ebichi’s home north of Austin. He had allegedly stripped to remove his bloody clothing.

A witness claims they heard him say ‘I killed Jennifer’ as he emerged from the property smiling and holding a bloody knife, and the account was backed up by a surveillance camera, police say.

Ebichi, 32, was stabbed more than a dozen times. She was in her first trimester and the fetus also died, an autopsy report revealed.

Around 5.30am, the mother had texted her twin brother Martin Egwuagu telling him that Michael ‘was at the residence and was having a crisis’.

Martin spoke to his brother and told police he heard him make several strange statements but did not want to share details of what he said.

Ebichi later texted Martin asking him to come to the house in Pflugerville. When Martin arrived around 4.10pm, his sister was lying in a pool of blood, he told investigators.

Martin grabbed Ebichi’s youngest child who was found crying inside the house.

The victim’s eldest child was standing outside the home with a neighbour who attends the family’s church and the child was covered in blood, according to the affidavit.

Martin then found Michael kneeling in the street and when he approached him, the former college football player said he’s ‘one of the good ones’, a police report states.

A witness said he appeared to be praying and asked family members for his Bible.

The suspect – who played safety at UTSA from 2013-16 – then stood up, removed his blood-soaked clothes and threw them into a trash can.

A neighbour – who Ebichi had contacted to come to the house – said she heard yelling and screaming between the adults and children. When Michael emerged he told her ‘I killed Jennifer’ and she reports he was smiling while holding the weapon, The Statesman reports she told cops.

According to an affidavit, Michael can be heard uttering the words on a doorbell camera device.

Neighbour Ben Nguyen told The Statesman: ‘It’s not something we expected to happen here. They were good people.’

One neighbour told KXAN that the knife was lying on the curb line.

‘We saw the guy. His hands and feet were covered in blood,’ a next-door neighbour said. ‘The only reason I knew about this was because of my son. He called and said there’s a guy running around naked outside.’

Ebichi was married.

Another neighbour Liskenia Tena added:

‘This is a quiet neighbourhood. She and her husband were very nice. They were very quiet.’

Egwuagu, who was from Pflugerville, was arrested at the scene, booked into Travis County jail and is held on $500,000 bail.

The motive for the killing was still unknown Monday night.

Police previously said:

‘Efforts were made to save her life, and the life of the reported unborn child. Ultimately, those efforts were unsuccessful and she did pass away.’

Loved ones asked for help raising money to support her husband and children.

‘Jenn was a loving, caring mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend,’ one friend posted on Facebook. ‘Let’s honor her life, and support her widowed husband and two surviving kids.

‘ If you would like to support the family in this difficult time, please send donations to @Ebichifamily through the Venmo app. All funds raised will go directly to Jenn’s family.’

Another friend shared some words wanting ‘everyone to know how amazing Chioma Jennifer Ebichi (Egwagu) truly was’.

‘A few days ago we all lost a dear friend and an incredible nurse to the most tragic way,’ the friend posted. ‘My heart feels so heavy and I just pray for her family to find peace.

‘Jenn you are amazing, inspiring, powerful, caring, hilarious, loving, and extremely intelligent. It was an honor to have worked with you for so many years, especially as a new nurse and now as the “experienced”.

‘I can’t imagine our Feb cohort without you. I could always count on you to have a good laugh or share a joke with you, I can hear your laugh now.’

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