WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts woman who fatally stabbed another woman during a fight has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and been sentenced to six years in prison.
Naomi Lawrence, 30, pleaded guilty Wednesday in the May 2020 death in Worcester of Traci Swan, The Telegram & Gazette reported.
Swan, 27, was killed while intervening in a fight between the father of her child and Lawrence, who also had a child with the same man, according to authorities.
Lawrence swung a knife at the man, cutting him on the shoulders and hands, the prosecutor said in court. When Swan tried to intervene she was stabbed in the neck. She was taken to the hospital where she later died.
Lawrence sobbed throughout the hearing and apologized through her lawyer.
“There is nothing more she wishes she can do than to take that day back,” her attorney said.
The defense had sought a maximum of four years in prison, while prosecutors requested 10 to 12 years behind bars.
Swan’s family said she was a peer counselor who mentored young women struggling with addiction — something she had overcome herself.
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