Woman gets prison time for “slashing” man in the stomach and stabbing him in the head

IDAHO FALLS – A 37-year-old woman has been sentenced for stabbing a man in the head and stomach.

Saleena Vontella Peterson was sentenced on Jan. 10 by District Judge Bruce Pickett to a minimum of one and a half years and a maximum of five years in prison.

Peterson will receive 106 days of credit for time already served.

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In October, Peterson initially pleaded not guilty to felony aggravated battery with the use of a deadly weapon. She later accepted a plea agreement in which she agreed to plead guilty to an amended charge of felony domestic battery with traumatic injury and admit to past probation violations.

For the probation violations, Peterson was sentenced to a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years in prison. Both sentences will run concurrently.

The plea agreement was non-binding, meaning Pickett did not have to agree to either party’s recommendations for sentencing.

Sentencing

Peterson’s defense attorney, Kelly Mallard, argued for his client to be placed on probation with an underlying sentence of a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years in prison.

Mallard said he regretted not arguing for self-defense, saying that Peterson felt the need to protect her property during the argument and that the victim had assaulted her first.

“Before Ms. Peterson, in the incident case, cut (the victim) with a piece of glass, he had hit her in the face with a bookshelf as she indicated, and split her lip,” said Mallard. “There’s nothing in the police report about that, the booking photograph shows a split lip, she showed up to the (preliminary hearing) with a split lip.”

Mallard also stated that Peterson has completed many courses during her time in jail, including an anger management course, and has been accepted into a domestic violence problem-solving court.

“She’s put herself to good use. I think these (courses) will be helpful to her,” said Mallard. “I would ask the court to give her that opportunity.”

Bonneville County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mitchell Benjamin argued for Peterson to receive a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years in prison for the probation violations, along with a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years for the felony charges.

He argued for those cases to run concurrently so the sentence would amount to a minimum of three years and a maximum of five years in prison.

Benjamin argued that Peterson has a history of probation violations and that being in the community will not help her address her issues.

“To the defendant’s credit, there was a guilty plea in this case, and it looks like there’s a lot of certifications that Mr. Mallard brought up and was looking at, and it sounds like she’s working on it,” said Benjamin. “However, when we look at the charge, we see some truly abhorrent behavior. We see that the defendant slashed (the victim’s) stomach and stabbed him in the head.”

Benjamin continued by explaining the violent details of the case, including Peterson not allowing the victim to get away.

“(The victim) was stabbed a total of six times, and afterward, she was chasing him out of the house, trying to keep him in, trying to convince neighbors to help not let him get away, and she ran around the neighborhood proclaiming, ‘I’m going to kill that bitch,'” said Benjamin. “We’re lucky we’re not here on a more, very serious charge.”

Benjamin also argued for a lifetime no-contact order between Peterson and the victim.

“I believe that a lifetime no-contact order would be appropriate in this case, given the circumstances,” said Benjamin. “If this would’ve been worse, we’d be looking at twenty-five to life.”

Before Pickett pronounced the sentence, Peterson gave a statement to the court, expressing apologies and hopes for a better future for herself and her children.

“I would just like to say that I accept accountability for my actions and what I’ve done,” said Peterson. “This has been a thirteen-year relationship, and it’s been really hard, and I’m looking forward to trying to live my life not in the relationship, for myself and to be able to change for my children and me.”

Peterson continued, asking the judge for a chance to start over.

“I’m ready to start and stand on my own two feet for once. Something I’ve learned is that if my present ever starts looking like my past does, then it’s time for me to change and start over, and reevaluate what I’m doing,” said Peterson. “So I would just like that opportunity, thank you.”

Before sentencing Peterson, Pickett disclosed new details from the pre-sentence investigation report, detailing how the victim ended up at the hospital.

“(The victim) had a stab wound to his chest and either blunt force or sharp trauma to the top of his head,” said Pickett. “When asked about the incident as law enforcement continued their investigation, you had a couple of different stories about what had occurred.”

Eventually, Peterson told police that (the victim) hit her in the face with a shelf and a mirror that was broken, and she then used a piece of the mirror to swing at him while he was trying to get away.

Later, officers spoke again with (the victim), who said that there had been a disagreement, and he felt something hit him on the top of his head, had blood running down, saw Peterson swing something, and felt a slice in his abdomen.

Pickett says officers also interviewed neighbors, who claim that Peterson threatened to kill them, too.

“You were yelling that you were going to kill him,” said Pickett. “You then yelled at the neighbor, asking for help. The neighbor called the police. She did not let you inside her own residence at that point, and you began to threaten to kill the neighbor.”

Original background

On Sept. 26, Idaho Falls Police responded to an apartment after receiving reports of a domestic disturbance. The reporting said her son had been stabbed once in his head and once in his stomach.

The victim said about six months prior, he was stabbed approximately six times by a woman identified as Peterson.

The victim allowed an officer to search the home, where he found “trace amounts of suspected blood on the kitchen floor.” Officers also reportedly found “broken glass in a nearby garbage and small pieces still on the floor” before noticing that Peterson was asleep in a bedroom.

An officer woke her up and reminded her of the no-contact order. The victim and Peterson said the no-contact order had been “amended to where it was still in effect, but they could see each other.”

Peterson explained that during the incident, she needed to protect herself, so she “grabbed the first thing she could and swung it at him.”

During an interview with the victim, he stated that while trying to get away from Peterson in the bedroom, he “felt something hit the top of his head” and saw “something black in (Peterson’s) hand, which he recognized as an attachment to his TV.”

According to the victim, he had “blood running down his face and eyes, impairing his vision.” He then felt a “slice in his abdomen,” so he began swinging his fists and punched Peterson in the face.

He then exited the apartment and walked to his mother’s home. A neighbor who witnessed it says Peterson was holding the victim by the back of his shirt as he tried to leave. The victim got away and Peterson allegedly yelled she was “going to kill him.”

Peterson was arrested and booked into the Bonneville County Jail with a bond of $10,000. A no-contact order was issued for the victim.