MURPHYSBORO, Ill. (WJPF) – What was first thought to be a death caused by a traffic accident is now being treated as a homicide.

On Wednesday, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said that I-DOT employee Edward Stallman was involved in a motor vehicle crash near the intersection of Highway 127 and Ava Road. A Good Samaritan preformed CPR on Stallman at the scene, but he pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Authorities now say that Stallman did not die from injuries sustained in the traffic accident, but was stabbed to death by his ex-wife.

Alexis Stallman, 41, was charged Thursday with three counts of first degree murder and one county of aggravated domestic battery. She’s is being held in the Jackson County Jail on a bond of $2 million and faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.