A son who heard yelling coming from his mother's bedroom shortly after waking up ended up finding his stepfather stabbing her to death inside a closet, police in Maryland said in charging documents. The woman, Amethyst Stephenson, 47, had a protective order in place against Alexander Stephenson, 53, who is her estranged husband and now faces charges stemming from her death, according to the Sunday, February 8, news release from the Howard County Police Department. Alexander turned himself in to police that day, when he was accused of fatally attacking her at Amethyst's Ellicott City home earlier that morning, police said. Amethyst previously sought a temporary protective order against Alexander after he allegedly threatened her and their children, according to court records viewed by WBAL-TV. The evening of Saturday, February 7, Alexander was arrested after authorities said he violated the protective order, court records show, the TV station reported. He was booked in jail, then released "on his own recognizance" hours before he allegedly attacked Amethyst, according to the court documents obtained by the TV station. Alexander is facing charges including first-degree murder and violation of a protective order, according to police. Ex-Husband Charged With Stabbing Woman - and Her New Husband Witnessed Attack He is represented by a public defender with the Howard County Public Defender's Office, which did not immediately return Us Weekly's request for comment on Wednesday, February 11. According to charging documents provided to Us by the Howard County State's Attorney's Office, Amethyst's son awoke at around 8 a.m. the morning of February 8, when his mother had still been sleeping. Shortly afterward, the charging documents say that the son "heard a commotion and yelling upstairs in Amethyst's bedroom," where he found Alexander on top of her, stabbing her with a "small black knife." Alexander tried to prevent Amethyst's son from alerting the police, but the son was able to make a call to 911, according to the charging documents. The son told investigators that "Alexander then cut his own wrists prior to fleeing out of the rear of the residence," the charging documents say. Officers arrived at the home nearly 15 minutes after the son had woken up, according to authorities. They found Amethyst had been stabbed several times, the charging documents say. She was declared dead within an hour. After Alexander allegedly fled the home, he arrived at the Howard County Police Department to turn himself in, according to the charging documents, which say he was then taken to a hospital for medical treatment due to the self-inflicted wounds on his wrists. Missouri Child Listened as Mom Was Bludgeoned to Death With a Hammer by Dad Amethyst's protective order against her husband was granted on February 2, records show. As part of the protective order, he was not allowed to contact her, WMAR 2 News Baltimore reported. Maryland State Police told the outlet that Amethyst and Alexander were in the process of getting a divorce. Alexander is being held in custody without bond, records show. He is due in court for a preliminary hearing on March 6. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.