Monday, December 31, 2012

Seattle, WA: Seattle woman charged in boyfriend’s slaying

A Seattle woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death during an argument has been charged with murder.

King County prosecutors contend Christina D. Kasper-Lewis killed Dante Durant on Dec. 19 during an argument at Durant’s Skyway apartment. Stabbed in the chest, Durant died at the scene.

According to charging documents, Kasper-Lewis, 31, had stabbed Durant previously during other incidents of domestic violence. She allegedly told police she picked up the knife to show Durant she was serious about their argument, and then stabbed him once when he grabbed her by the lapels.

King County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to Durant’s home at 1:44 a.m. the morning of the killing. They arrived to find Kasper-Lewis standing over the dead 31-year-old.
Kasper-Lewis was arrested at the scene and later gave a statement to detectives in which she admitted to killing Durant, according to charging documents.

The two had been arguing and drinking much of the night when they returned to the apartment from a nearby bar. Arriving home, Kasper-Lewis armed herself with a large kitchen knife and continued to argue with Durant.

Speaking with detectives, Kasper-Lewis is alleged to have claimed she only hoped to scare her boyfriend with the knife and did not intend to kill him. Police contend she stabbed him once after he grabbed her shirt, slicing through the man’s lung and heart.

“She said (Durant) immediately fell to the floor,” a King County Sherriff’s Office detective told the court. “Assuming the victim was playing dead, (Kasper-Lewis) said she attempted to wake the victim up.”

Durant’s brother then called 911 at Kasper-Lewis’s urging. Kasper-Lewis is alleged to have told police she was afraid of Durant, but admitted he did not threaten her or assault her the night he was killed.

An examination of Durant’s body found several other small, relatively fresh stab wounds to his neck, chest and face, the detective told the court. Prosecutors contend Kasper-Lewis was responsible for those wounds.

Kasper-Lewis has been charged with second-degree murder. She remains jailed on $1 million bail.

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