BOSTON (WHDH) - A South Boston woman appeared in court Monday, accused of stabbing her boyfriend in the heart during an altercation at their home Friday night.
Gisselle Pascual, 24, is charged with manslaughter. She has pleaded not guilty.
Police were called to Pascual’s home on Old Colony Avenue in South Boston Friday night, and said they found her boyfriend, identified by authorities as Kyle Bradford, 26, unresponsive on the bathroom floor. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Pascual’s defense attorney said Bradford called and threatened to kill her, then showed up at the home drunk and began strangling her.
“She is actually the victim, not the decedant, your honor,” said Peter Marano, Pascual’s Defense Attorney. “When she broke away from him he made threats to kill her and was trying to kill her and said he would kill her. She responded in self-defense as a reasonable person would do.”
In court, red marks could be seen around Pascual’s neck.
“Her boyfriend has court cases in 11 different courts in Massachusetts, ranging from assault and battery on a disabled person, on a person over 60. He tore up and vandalized a former girlfriend’s home,” Marano said.
Pascual’s friends and family, and supporters for Bradford were both in court.
“She grabbed a knife that happened to be on the desk and stabbed the victim in the chest. The defendant choose to take extraordinarily violent actions,” said Prosecutor Ceara Mahoney. “There were other options for the defendant considering the fact that her parents where home. She could have left the room. Ultimately the defendant engaged in this violent conduct that resulted in the loss of life.”
Pascual is the mother of a 1-year-old child and works at Logan Airport. She is being held on $100,000 bail, which Marano said she cannot post and is excessive.
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