Woman convicted of stabbing estranged boyfriend

NORRISTOWN » A Norristown woman was convicted of charges she used a knife to assault and wound her estranged boyfriend during a domestic disturbance in the borough home they shared.

Alexandria McCrae, 27, of the first block of Rosemont Avenue, was convicted in Montgomery County Court on Friday of charges of aggravated assault causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and possession of an instrument of crime in connection with the Jan. 18, 2017, incident.

Judge Todd D. Eisenberg rendered the verdict after hearing testimony during a nonjury trial.

McCrae, who remains free on bail pending sentencing, faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 ½ to 21 years in prison on the charges. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for less jail time.

Assistant District Attorney Meghan Carney said she will seek jail time against McCrae “based on the violent nature of her actions.”

“This victim sustained serious injuries. He was moments away from death,” said Carney, referring to testimony that the victim underwent surgery and had his spleen and a portion of his pancreas removed and suffered kidney damage and a collapsed lung. “These are serious injuries he will have to live with the rest of his life and jail time is appropriate to show that this type of violent behavior won’t be tolerated.”

The victim testified he and McCrae, who share a child, were involved in a disagreement and that McCrae initially struck him in the face with her hand. The victim testified that later, about 2 a.m., he went into the woman’s darkened bedroom to try to talk to her when she lunged at him with the kitchen knife, stabbing him in the stomach, arm and back.

“It felt like all the air left my body,” the victim testified, recalling he ran from

the home and collapsed in the street outside the home.

The victim admitted he didn’t want to press charges against McCrae

and that he was uncomfortable testifying against her.

McCrae testified the couple had been arguing and that earlier in the evening the victim choked her while pushing her against the wall, causing her to almost lose consciousness

and made a threatening remark to her. The victim denied choking McCrae and denied threatening her.

McCrae claimed she was scared and that she retrieved the kitchen knife and took it to her bedroom. McCrae claimed that her boyfriend later came to her

room and during another verbal altercation poured water on her.

“He looked angry. I didn’t want him to choke me again. He could have done anything to me,” said McCrae, testifying that’s when she brandished the knife and stabbed the man.

Defense lawyer John I. McMahon Jr. sought an acquittal on all charges on behalf of McCrae, arguing she acted in self-defense.

“She was afraid he was going to assault her in a violent fashion. This defendant was attacked by a man much, much bigger than her,” alleged McMahon, claiming McCrae’s statement to detectives and her testimony were consistent. But Carney disagreed. “This was not a self-defense case. She was not justified in her actions. She was not in fear for her life or serious bodily injury,” Carney argued.

Carney said even if the victim did pour water on McCrae “that should not be met with multiple stab wounds to vital areas of the body.”

“She was not justified in any of the violent actions she took against him,” Carney argued.

Testimony revealed the argument ensued after McCrae questioned the victim about being with other women.

“She was not scared. She was angry. She was mad. This is a frustrated woman, an angry woman, not a woman in fear for her life,” Carney argued.

Testimony revealed another person in the home summoned police after the stabbing. Police found the victim lying in the middle of the street. According to testimony, McCrae also fled from the home and flagged down a tow truck driver in the area and told the driver she had just stabbed someone.

Detectives found the knife along a fence line in an alley behind the Rosemont Avenue home where McCrae had tossed it when she fled from the home.