Superior Court sets aside woman’s sentence in Greene County stabbing
The state Superior Court ordered a Greene County judge to determine if a woman convicted of stabbing her boyfriend should get a new trial.
Christina L. Lorenz, 34, of Mount Morris, was sentenced to 20 to 60 months in state prison last year for stabbing Tyler Spacht of Mount Morris seven times during an argument at their home.
She appealed the sentence, and in an order issued this week, the appeals court remanded the case for an evidentiary hearing. Lorenz maintained at trial that she stabbed Spacht in self-defense, claiming he was sexually assaulting her at gunpoint.
Prosecutors, according to the court opinion, presented evidence at her 2018 trial that there was no gun found in the home.
However, during a February 2019 motions hearing for return of property, prosecutors said a firearm was discovered hidden in the bathroom when Spacht was moving out.
“Based on this record, we conclude that remand for an evidentiary hearing is warranted,” Superior Court President Judge Emeritus John T. Bender wrote in the opinion.
If a Greene County judge determines there is no reason for a new trial after the hearing, Bender noted Lorenz’s sentence could be imposed again. Lorenz was convicted of aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment.