An Ocean County woman accused of fatally stabbing her abusive fiance faces five years in prison after pleading guilty to reckless manslaughter this week.
Ciara Williams, 27, stabbed Dennis Power in the chest Sept. 29, during an argument inside their Brick Gardens apartment complex.
Williams attorney told the judge at her detention hearing last year that she feared for her life after Power attacked her and that she stabbed him in self-defense.
Williams then drove him to the Ocean Medical Center in Brick with her 8-year-old daughter, leaving Power inside the vehicle.
Power, 35, was found unconscious but breathing.
He was rushed inside where lifesaving measures were unsuccessful.
Williams turned herself in the next day.
“She acted to survive,” Williams’ attorney told the judge during her detention hearing last year.
Her mugshot showed injuries from the alleged attack with a broom.
Superior Court Judge Wendel Daniels agreed to release Williams, but an appellate panel overturned that decision.
But the self-defense did weigh into the plea deal offered by the state, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said.
“Although Ms. Williams was originally facing more significant charges with greater sentencing exposure, legitimate self-defense claims arose during the course of our investigation which we simply could not ignore, and which we were required to take into account in evaluating this very difficult case,” he said. “The claims of self-defense, combined with considerable proof problems led to this resolution which we believe to be just and reasonable after careful consideration of the facts under circumstances.”
