A nurse accused of fatally stabbing her intoxicated husband in her New York apartments says she acted in self-defense.
The attorney for Tracy McCarter, 44, argued his client's estranged husband was “intoxicated” and “attacking her" when she stabbed him in the shoulder Monday, the New York Post reported.
McCarter, who is a nurse at Weill Cornell Medical Center, had split from her husband “some time ago” before he decided to come over to the Upper West Side apartment they used to share Monday night.
“This is a strong case of self-defense,” the defendant's attorney, Frank Rothman said in Manhattan Criminal Court. “I say that judge because there was one stab wound on the deceased around the shoulder area. When the police came she was administering first aid — as a nurse.”
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Rothman added that his client's husband had a “long history of violent behavior and alcohol abuse.”
The victim was drunk and ringing doorbells for several apartments in McCarter's building before she relented and let him in, according to court testimony.
The defense said her husband became abusive and demanded money upon entering the apartment. When he tried to take her purse, Rothman said McCarter stabbed him and then proceeded to call 911.
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Assistant District Attorney Sara Sullivan thinks the prosecution's case is strong because of the nature of the case and because the murder weapon was recovered from the apartment.
McCarter faces a charge of murder in the second degree. She was denied bail after the prosecution cited her as a flight risk.
