Minneapolis woman sentenced for fatally stabbing boyfriend

A 36-year-old Minneapolis woman who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing her boyfriend was sentenced Wednesday.

According to court records, Zara Jo Case was sentenced to 10 years in prison. 

Case pleaded guilty in May to one count of second-degree murder. 

According to a criminal complaint, Minneapolis police officers were called to a residence on the 900 block of 15th Avenue at about 5:23 a.m. Feb. 15. A caller reported a neighbor dispute in her apartment building. When police arrived, they spoke with a witness who said Case had broken his window and she was trying to force her way into his home.

Woman charged in fatal Minneapolis stabbing pleads guilty

The complaint says officers met with Case, who appeared to be intoxicated. The officers were later able to convince Case to go back to her boyfriend's apartment. While officers were speaking with Case's boyfriend, the witness called 911 again, saying Case was trying to force her way into his apartment. Officers were able to return Case to her apartment by 6:05 a.m.

Just a minute later, police received another call, this time about a woman on the street corner "screaming about her boyfriend stabbing himself." The complaint states officers returned and found Case's boyfriend with a stab wound to his chest. First responders did not think the wound was fatal at first; however, he later died at Hennepin County Medical Center. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office identified him as 39-year-old Joseph Abraham McRunnel.

After executing a search warrant at the victim's apartment, police found a large kitchen knife with blood on it.