Baltimore prosecutors have dropped charges against a woman accused of first-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend. She had told police that he had been choking her when she stabbed him.
Tiesha Sakeyra Bennett, 27, was charged in July in the death of Jermaine Womack, 32, on June 22 in the 300 block of Charter Oak Ave. But the charges were dropped in Baltimore District Court on Sept. 3, according to online court records.
Bennett's defense attorney, Ivan J. Bates, said city prosecutors overreached in accusing Bennett of murder.
"One of my problems with the Baltimore City state's attorney is that they always overcharge," Bates said. "That's one of the reasons they have the problems they're having with getting guilty verdicts from Baltimore City juries."
Margaret T. Burns, a spokeswoman for Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy, defended prosecutors' oversight in charging cases but could not immediately explain what prompted them to drop the case against Bennett.
Charging documents filed by homicide Detective Donald Diehl described the investigation into the events leading up to the killing as "complex."
Diehl wrote that he met Bennett at a hospital and observed blood on her dress, leading him to believe she might have been involved. He then interviewed two witnesses who said that Bennett had told them that she had stabbed Womack because he was choking her.
In a follow-up interview, Bennett "confessed to stabbing Jermaine Womack. ... Mr. Womack began to choke her until she couldn't breathe, so she grabbed a knife and stabbed him," Diehl wrote in charging documents.
Bates said Bennett had numerous injuries and was "beaten to the point where she was about to die." He noted that she did not have a criminal record, while Womack had several cases of assault and domestic violence. He questioned why police and prosecutors did not seem to acknowledge those facts when charging Bennett.
Bennett was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of assault and use of a deadly weapon. She spent seven days in jail after initially being ordered held without bond but was released after posting $70,000 bond on July 29. All charges now have been dropped.
