WORCESTER (AP) — A Massachusetts woman who stabbed her boyfriend 21 times then waited hours before calling police has been sentenced to life in prison.
Stephanie Cruz, who was sentenced Thursday, will be eligible for parole after 22 years. She pleaded guilty in November to second-degree murder.
The 31-year-old Leominster woman was originally charged with first-degree murder in the June 2015 death of 37-year-old Cedric Taylor in the home they shared.
She told police she and Taylor had been drinking and he "lunged" at her, so she locked herself in the bathroom. She emerged and stabbed him, then waited until the next day to call police, telling them she waited because she "did not want to get in trouble."
Attorneys say the couple had been involved in domestic violence previously.
(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)