A Michigan woman was sentenced to spend less than a year behind bars in connection to the fatal stabbing of her child’s father in 2019.
On Thursday, Dec. 9, Jackson Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson sentenced Miykiah Sneed, 23, to 210 days in jail and three years of probation, according to MLive.com.
In October, Sneed pleaded guilty to a charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, facing up to 10 years in prison for the Nov. 11, 2019 killing of Malik Dearing.
Sneed testified that she and Dearing had a violent relationship that included multiple physical fights. The former couple shared one child, and Sneed was pregnant with her second child when the altercation occurred. According to testimony, before the stabbing, the pair had gotten into a fight that turned physical, MLive.com reported.
Sneed, who was 21 at the time, stabbed Dearing once in the chest as he was choking her, police said. And despite fighting many times before, she said she felt that her life was in danger during that November night.
“If I didn’t stab Malik, I was going to die,” Sneed said.
Rayjah McCranie testified that the couple reportedly argued in Sneed’s basement bedroom and started fighting when they returned upstairs. McCranie said Dearing punched the 23-year-old and threw her to the floor.
While Sneed left the residence after the stabbing, she was arrested the following morning. Wilson said she would have had a “plausible” self-defense claim if she didn’t flee the scene and waited for the authorities to arrive.
According to Jackson County Medical Examiner Dr. Patrick Cho, Dearing could have survived his injuries if given immediate medical attention. However, police said he was resistant to medical assistance when taken to Henry Ford Allegiance Health.
There is no information as to when Sneed will begin her sentencing.
