Crime & Safety

Police: Refused Sex, Woman Stabs Ex-Boyfriend

South Bethlehem woman visited ex with their daughter and wanted sex, but she trashed his room and lunged at him with a kitchen knife when he refused, police say.

 

A South Bethlehem woman is accused of stabbing her ex-boyfriend – and the father of her 2-year-old daughter – with a kitchen knife after he refused to have sex with her Sunday morning, according to court papers.

The suspect, Veronica Morales, 23, of 606 Hayes St., went to police with her story first, claiming that her ex-boyfriend had assaulted her when she brought the toddler to his home for him to watch, the affidavit says.

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But Bethlehem police sussed out a different story when they interviewed the boyfriend – Deion Serna – and a next-door neighbor who told police he had heard what happened.

According to Serna’s version of events in court papers:

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  • Morales arrived at his room at the Fifth Street Hotel, 716 E. Fifth St., at about 9:15 a.m. He went to take his daughter from Morales’ arms, but she refused. Morales told Serna that she wanted to have sex with him. He refused.
  • An argument began and Morales smashed a blue vase. Serna told her to leave, but she continued to destroy the room.
  • Finally, she said: “One of us is not leaving here alive.” She grabbed a kitchen knife and lunged at him, causing a small cut on the upper right side of his back.
  • Serna ran out of the room, “in fear of his life,” to find the hotel supervisor. When he returned, Morales was gone and his wallet and keys were missing.

The witness, according to court papers, told police:

  • He heard Morales arrive and parts of a conversation from next door.
  • He could hear Morales ask for something and Serna tell her no multiple times.
  • He heard things being thrown and broken.
  • He heard Serna tell Morales to leave and she wouldn’t.
  • He heard Serna exclaim: “You’re trying to stab me in front of the baby.”
  • He peeked out of his front door and saw Serna run out of the room and Morales walking after him. At that point, he heard Serna ask: “Why are you trying to stab me in the back?”

In a subsequent interview, according to court papers, police asked Morales about Serna’s wallet and keys. She denied taking anything and offered them her purse to be searched. Serna’s wallet and keys were inside.

The affidavit says that when Morales first reported the incident to police, she claimed that Serna wanted to have sex with her and she refused. She claimed then that Serna pushed her to her knees, then put a hand around her neck and forced her to the ground. The report noted, however, that there were no marks on her neck.

Morales was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, theft, receiving stolen property and simple assault.

She was arraigned before on-duty District Judge Nancy Matos-Gonzalez and committed to Northampton County Prison after she failed to post $30,000 bail.


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