AYER, Mass. — Prosecutors say a Massachusetts woman was drinking and taking drugs with her cousin before they got into an argument and she fatally stabbed him in the heart.
Laqwanda Villaronga was held without bail at her arraignment Monday after a not guilty plea was entered on her behalf to a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury.
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Merritt was taken to Nashoba Valley Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Prosecutors say the 26-year-old Villaronga and her cousin, 24-year-old Jonathan Merritt, were in her Ayer apartment last Friday afternoon when he started "taunting" her. Authorities say she grabbed an 8- to 10-inch kitchen knife and stabbed Merritt. She then called 911.
Villaronga's court-appointed attorney did not comment. The dangerousness hearing is scheduled for Friday.
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