PATERSON — Authorities say a man who allegedly attacked his girlfriend in their city home was fatally stabbed in the back by one of the woman's relatives.

Passaic County prosecutors say Virgil Thomas faces murder and weapons charges. It wasn't known Saturday if the 54-year-old Paterson man has retained an attorney.

Police had gone to the Paterson home around 5:45 p.m. Friday for a reported domestic dispute.

Prosecutors say 47-year-old Christopher Jackson was verbally and physically assaulting his 48-year-old girlfriend when several of the women's family members tried to intervene. Thomas allegedly grabbed a knife and stabbed Jackson, who was taken to a hospital but died there a short time later.

Authorities have not said what sparked the couple's dispute or if the woman was injured.

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