KC woman convicted in 2015 stabbing death receives 40-year prison sentence

A Clay County judge has sentenced a Kansas City, North, woman to 40 years in prison for the stabbing death of a man that occurred during an argument.

Tia D. Townsel, 34, was convicted March 8 of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the 2015 slaying of Jermaine Collins, 32.

Collins was stabbed during a fight with Townsel at an apartment at 115 N.W. Harlem Road.

A witness said that the two punched and kicked each other after Collins kicked in the door of Townsel’s apartment to retrieve a pair of shoes. The fight spilled outside, where Collins hit Townsel in the head with a bottle of vodka.

Townsel then grabbed a knife. As they struggled over the weapon, Collins was stabbed, according to authorities.

Townsel suffered a cut on the hand but denied stabbing Collins, who she said had come over to her apartment to get his hair done. She told investigators that she was cut while trying to help Collins get away from a group of women who attacked him after he left her apartment.

This story was originally published May 19, 2017 at 9:03 AM with the headline "KC woman convicted in 2015 stabbing death receives 40-year prison sentence."