WOONSOCKET, S.D. (AP) - A Woonsocket man who admitted fatally stabbing the woman he lived with will serve 40 years in prison.
Thirty-three-year-old Matthew Novak was sentenced Tuesday for first-degree manslaughter in the death last August of 26-year-old Jennifer Gibson.
Court records say Novak grabbed a kitchen knife after arguing with Gibson. He stabbed her 10 times and slashed her neck.
The couple had three children together. Novak was arrested hours later when police converged on the home. The incident prompted a nearby school to go into lockdown.
The Daily Republic (https://bit.ly/2nJJAiR ) reports Judge Jon Erickson said at Novak’s sentencing that the stabbing happened in the “heat of the moment” and was “not premeditated.”
Gibson’s sister, Amanda Gibson, said she hoped Novak would be sentenced to life in prison.
Novak’s attorney had no comment.
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Information from: The Daily Republic, https://www.mitchellrepublic.com
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