Local Woman Who Stabbed and Slashed Her Co-Worker AndTthen Fled The Country Sentenced to State Prison
Bristol County District Attorney’s Office
Thomas M. Quinn III
District Attorney
Press Release
March 30, 2017
A 43-year-old former Providence woman, who viciously stabbed and slashed a co-worker at the King’s Inn in Dartmouth in 2007 before fleeing the country on the eve of her 2009 trial, was sentenced to serve four to six years in state prison earlier this week.
Katherine Pimental pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court to a multi-count indictment charging her with mayhem, armed assault with intent to murder and failure to appear.
On July 27, 2007, the defendant attacked another employee in a bathroom stall at the King’s Inn. The defendant burst into the closed stall as the victim had her pants down and was squatting above the toilet. She then struck the victim with an empty beer bottle, causing the bottle to break upon impact with the victim. The defendant then slashed the victim with the shattered beer bottle as the victim tried to protect herself in the small space between the toilet and the stall wall. The defendant tried to stab the victim in the neck with the jagged edge of the bottle, which the victim avoided by raising her arm and taking the thrust into her left triceps.
A bouncer at the club eventually ran into the bathroom after hearing the victim’s screams and stopped the defendant from continuing the brutal attack. The victim suffered multiple lacerations and permanent scarring on her face.
After the attack, the defendant fled the scene of the crime. Dartmouth Police, after obtaining a warrant for the defendant, arrested her on August 6, 2007. She eventually posted $5,000 bail, which was set in Superior Court after she was indicted on the charges related to the attack.
After two changes of counsel, the case was scheduled for trial on December 3, 2009. But On the eve of trial, the defendant fled the country to the Dominican Republic.
After years of multi-jurisdictional efforts to locate the defendant, she was located by the FBI in the Dominican Republic. The FBI, along with the Department of Justice assisted in dealing with the international extradition of the defendant.
The defendant was returned to the United States in late May of 2016 and has been held in jail without bail ever since.
During a sentencing hearing Tuesday before Judge Raffi Yessayan, Co-First Assistant District Attorney Patrick Bomberg argued for a state prison sentence of seven to nine years, which is consistent with the sentencing guidelines for mayhem and assault with intent to murder. Assistant District Attorney Bomberg also argued that the defendant’s flight from the country to avoid prosecution should also be taken into account during sentencing.
The defendant, however, requested a two-and-a-half year house of corrections sentence.
“I am very pleased that the defendant was held accountable for this unprovoked and brutal assault. It is particularly satisfying because in 2009 the defendant skipped her trial date and fled to the Dominican Republic,” District Attorney Quinn said. “With the help of the FBI and Department of Justice, the defendant was located and extradited back to Massachusetts. I would like to thank Co-First Assistant Patrick Bomberg for his perseverance, and the victim for her patience in this case.”
Contact:
Gregg Miliote
Director of Communications
508-997-0711
774-292-9576—cell