Watertown woman guilty of manslaughter, not murder

A Watertown woman who fatally stabbed her boyfriend in 2010 was found guilty Monday of manslaughter, but not murder, for the act.

A Jefferson County Court jury rejected Krista M. Goley’s contention that she stabbed Timothy C. Rolland, 21, in self-defense on Sept. 1, 2010, at their residence at 111 E. Lynde St., Apt. 3.

After five days of testimony, the jury deliberated for about two hours before returning a guilty verdict of first-degree manslaughter, a lesser-included count to the top count of second-degree murder contained in an eight-count indictment handed up in May.

By returning a guilty verdict to manslaughter rather than murder, the jury found Ms. Goley, 26, a Fort Drum soldier, had acted in a way that could cause serious physical harm or death to Mr. Rolland, a former soldier, but she did not intentionally kill him.

“What’s clear is that (the jury) did not buy her self-defense claim,” said Aaron D. Carr, senior assistant district attorney. “It centers around her intent. The verdict says she intended to do serious physical injury to him, which she did, because it was a fatality.”

In statements to police, Ms. Goley claimed an intoxicated Mr. Rolland punched her a few times and then threw a stool and small table at her during a domestic dispute. She told police she stabbed Mr. Rolland with a butcher knife as he raised his arm to hit her again, although two witnesses, Cory and Stephanie Desforges, disputed that account, indicating Mr. Rolland was not acting aggressively when he was stabbed. The Desforges were roommates of Ms. Goley and Mr. Rolland.

Jurors had also heard Mr. Rolland suffered eight superficial stab wounds before suffering a 5-inch-deep wound in his chest that proved fatal, according to trial testimony. Ms. Goley also had threatened Mr. Rolland with a knife two days before the stabbing, and a neighbor testified that hours before the stabbing, Ms. Goley had said she planned to stab Mr. Rolland that night if he “misbehaved.”

“The jury found that she did not intend to kill that man,” said Matthew J. Porter, assistant public defender. “Obviously, we’re pleased, but we would have liked a better verdict.”

In addition to manslaughter, Ms. Goley was convicted on the remaining seven counts, including two counts of endangering the welfare of a child because her 5-year-old son was in the apartment at the time of the domestic dispute and witnessed the stabbing. Mr. Porter said Ms. Goley plans to file an appeal at sentencing.

The murder conviction could have included a sentence of up to life in state prison, while a manslaughter conviction carries a sentence of five to 25 years in prison. Sentencing was set for March 16.