Carmela Jocelyn Marie Knop of Branson, Taney County, Missouri, United States has died. She was 19.
Knop was born in Missouri. She lived in Chicago, Illinois, USA and most recently in an apartment in Reeds Spring, Stone County, Missouri.
In April 2025, Knop started dating Gavin O. Justice, 19, of Bella Vista, Benton County, Arkansas, USA. On May 23, 2025, she turned 19.
Gavin Justice
Recently, Justice went to Reed Springs to visit Knop. On October 6, 2025, she was fatally stabbed in her apartment allegedly by him.
At 12:27 p.m., Stone County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Reeds Spring Police Department officers responded to a report of Knop running around downtown Reeds Spring while covered in blood. They found him in an apartment across from the Reeds Spring Post Office.
The deputies and the officers also found Knop dead in the apartment. Justice had life-threatening self-inflicted stab wounds so he was transported to a hospital where he is expected to survive.
Detectives are investigating the scene as a homicide and attempted suicide by Justice. He will be arrested after his release from the hospital.
Justice was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in relation to the death of Knop. A judge ordered the Bella Vista man held without bond.
Reeds Spring
Bella Vista became a retirement community in 1965 and was incorporated as a city on January 1, 2007. The city is around 70 miles away from Reeds Spring.
Reeds Spring was named after Fitzhugh Reed. Before it was officially recognized as a town in 1906, he operated a farm there called Reed’s Spring.
In 2023, Reeds Spring had a population of 992 people, which increased to 1,308 people in 2025. On April 8, 2025, Barbara Hoke won the mayoral race in the city with 110 votes, beating Jimmy Leach with 32 votes, Melissa Freeman with 17 votes and Brian Bailey with 14 votes.
CONAN Daily 