The Riverhead woman charged in the stabbing death of her girlfriend in their East Main Street home last November has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
Karen A. Delacruz Reyes, 22, entered the guilty plea in Suffolk County Criminal Court on Sept. 16, according to court records. She was remanded to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility and is due back in court for sentencing on Nov. 18.
Delacruz Reyes stabbed Marta Esmerelda Carbajal Ramirez, 20, during an argument at their home on the night of Nov. 18, 2021.
Riverhead Police were called to the home at 1142A East Main Street that night. Arriving officers found no one inside the residence, but evidence of a struggle within, according to a police report.
Police located the victim at Peconic Bay Medical Center. Delacruz Reyes was also at the hospital and was arrested there on the manslaughter charge.
The victim’s family members said she and Delacruz Reyes had lived together for about a year. A native of El Salvador, Carbajal worked at a Riverhead nursery.
Delacruz Reyes, who was represented by Manhattan attorney Jack Vilella, will appear for sentencing next month before Suffolk County Criminal Court Judge John Collins. Manslaughter in the First Degree is a class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
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