Woman accused in stabbing takes plea
A Santa Fe woman accused of repeatedly stabbing a male companion while he was tied to a bed pleaded guilty Tuesday to reduced charges as part of an agreement that exposes her to between two and six years in prison.
Brittney Vasquez, 30, was delusional at the time of the attack in January 2020, according to statements a prosecutor made at her plea hearing. She told police who arrived at the home in response to neighbors’ calls that evil dwelled inside and that she’d had a dream in which the man had hurt her children, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Padgett Macias said.
Vasquez initially told police the man had tried to sexually assault her, Padgett Macias said, but she later admitted that was not true.
Prosecutors originally charged Vasquez with kidnapping, attempted murder and four counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harm. She was accused of stabbing the man multiple times in his face and body, causing severe injuries.
She pleaded guilty to two of the aggravated battery charges and a count of possession of a controlled substance Tuesday as part of an agreement that calls for other charges to be dropped.
Padgett Macias said Tuesday the state previously dismissed the kidnapping charge after determining Vasquez had tied the man to the bed at his own instruction and not against his will.
The pair had arranged a date that evening “to do drugs and have sex,” Padgett Macias said, but at some point, “something in her snaps.”
She left the room and came back with a knife, Padgett Macias said. The man began pleading for his life, and Vasquez “began stabbing him again and again.”
The man — a trained pianist and engineer — suffered at least 12 stab wounds, including injuries to his nose and hands, which the prosecutor said took away his livelihood.
Under the terms of her plea agreement, Vasquez will be sentenced after undergoing a 60-day diagnostic evaluation.
Padgett Macias said the man was informed about the deal and did not oppose it.