A 29-year-old Smithville man is charged with attempted first-degree murder after his wife was found on the roadside with knife wounds to her neck, face and hands today (Tuesday).

Andrew Lafate Billings is in the custody of the White County Sheriff's Department after he allegedly attacked his wife, Adriana Billings, 19, with a knife. The woman was reportedly found in a ditch in the Ragland Bottom area off Backbone Road in DeKalb County just after 9 a.m.

According to the warrant against Billings, he “...did intentionally and knowingly stab his wife, Adriana Nichole Billings numerous times about the upper body. Billings did commit this act with premeditation with the intent to kill Adriana Billings. Adriana was taken by helicopter with life threatening injuries.”

The Billings' are the same couple who allegedly fled the scene of an accident with their eight-month-old child and left a meth lab in their vehicle in November. They were apprehended in Michigan, and still face related charges.

A passerby apparently found the injured woman.

“At 9:06 a.m. a call came in to dispatch from someone who found a woman on the side of the road bleeding from the throat and said she appeared to have been stabbed,” Sheriff Patrick Ray told the Review.

“Officers arrived ten minutes later and found the woman lying in a ditch with knife wounds to the neck, face, and hands. The victim was seen by EMS and then airlifted by helicopter. She suffered life threatening injuries,” the sheriff continued.

“While doing inventory at the scene, detectives developed Andrew Billings as a suspect and were able to obtain a vehicle description. A BOLO (Be on the lookout) was sent to surrounding counties. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and District Attorney General’s Office were summoned to the scene by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office,” the sheriff explained.

A domestic call across the county line led to Billings arrest.

“White County authorities later received a domestic call in their county and learned that Andrew Billings had gotten into an argument with a family member. A White County detective spotted the vehicle Billings was driving and did a traffic stop at 11:19 a.m.,” Ray said.

“A search warrant was later obtained and executed on the vehicle Billings was driving, and officers found blood and a bloody knife with hair on it inside the automobile. Billings was found to have cuts to his hands.”

Billings was booked in DeKalb County on the attempted murder case, but is being held in White County on a failure to appear charge. His bond is set at one million dollars, and he will appear in court on April 20.

Sheriff Ray would like to thank the TBI and DA’s office and the White County Sheriff’s Department for their help in the investigation.