LANCASTER, Pa. — A Lancaster woman admitted in court Monday to fatally stabbing her boyfriend in the chest last year outside a city home.
Shanik Rodriguez, 20, will serve 12 to 25 years in prison for killing 20-year-old Harris Perez on Oct. 5, 2015.
Perez’ family and friends watched as Rodriguez pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in exchange for the sentence, according to Assistant District Attorney Susan Ellison, lead prosecutor.
Ellison, speaking on behalf of the family, told County Judge Jeffery Wright how Perez was loved by many and will be missed.
Gloria Santos wore a shirt with a photo of her son as she listened from the courtroom gallery.
Judge Wright, after asking Rodriguez a series of questions about the ramifications of the guilty plea, accepted terms of the agreement and ordered sentence.
Rodriguez initially told police the stabbing in the 400 block of Lafayette Avenue was an accident. On Oct. 8, 2015, she admitted to stabbing Perez during an argument.
Third-degree murder is a killing committed with malice, but without premeditation.
Lancaster city police Detective Donald Morant filed charges.
