A transgender woman from Philadelphia will face prison time for the stabbing death of her boyfriend.
Asia Santana pleaded guilty in the spring to the 2010 murder of Eric Nevith, and Judge William Furber sentenced her last Friday to 14-28 years.
Santana stabbed Nevith six times in a bedroom of a Norristown home belonging to a relative of Santana, where the couple had been living for a few days before the murder.
In a statement to the court Oct. 21, Santana, 41, disclosed that Nevith, 28, infected her with HIV, which she said led to frequent arguments, including the one that resulted in Nevith’s stabbing.
Santana said during the Aug. 13 argument, Nevith struck her in the face, which she said caused her to black out.
Santana said she does not remember stabbing Nevith but came to and saw him bleeding on the floor.
Nevith was stabbed in the chest, back, arm and leg.
Following the incident, Santana wrapped the body in a sheet and called her brother, who arrived with their mother, and Santana waited at the scene for the police.
Santana said during her statement last week that she was “sick to [her] soul” without Nevith. The couple had been together for five years.
Furber additionally sentenced Santana to nine-23 months to be served concurrently for possession of an instrument of crime.
Sentencing guidelines could have allowed for 22.5-45 years in prison. In exchange for her guilty plea on the third-degree murder charge in April, prosecutors dropped a first-degree murder charge.
Furber also ordered Santana to pay nearly $7,000 for Nevith’s funeral costs.
According to her Facebook page, Santana is a 1988 graduate of Martin Luther King High School, studied communications at Community College of Philadelphia and worked in the jewelry department at Macy’s.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].