A woman accused of fatally stabbing a Long Island man inside his home says she acted in “justified self-defense,” with her attorneys alleging he incapacitated her with a date-rape drug before attempting to sexually assault her.
Robert “Bobby” Carragher, 28, died in his father’s arms as his mother looked on in horror after Kristin Sculley, 22, allegedly stabbed him in the basement of his parents’ Massapequa home, where police say the pair had planned a late-night meeting.
Sculley, who faces a second-degree murder charge, has acknowledged a long history of drug addiction and had been using cocaine and meth for several days before the incident, her defense attorney, Dennis Lemke, told a crowded Mineola courtroom Wednesday, according to CBS News.
Lemke said Sculley claims she stabbed Carragher in the neck only after waking from a drug-induced haze to find him allegedly trying to sexually assault her.
The defense argued the fatal stabbing amounted to “justified self-defense,” a claim that prompted someone in the courtroom to shout, “Liar!” during the hearing.
According to Lemke, Sculley alleges Carragher had been her longtime drug dealer and had supplied her with cocaine and meth, which the two had reportedly been using together at his home during the two days leading up to the killing.
She further claims that on the morning of the stabbing, Carragher handed her a vape pen containing what appeared to be a date-rape drug, leaving her unable to move, Lemke told the court, according to Newsday.
“She was given some type of drug that, she felt very loopy, was passing out. She woke up, he was on top of her, trying to abuse her, sexually,” Lemke said.
“That’s when she grabbed the knife that was there and stabbed him one time … She went and passed out only 15 feet away.”
Sculley has been battling drug addiction her whole life and had done a stint in rehab and had recently relapsed, said Lemke.
The courtroom, which was filled with members from both families, reportedly erupted in audible gasps and one person who yelled “liar” at the self-defense allegation, according to CBS.
Lemke also claimed that Nassau County Detectives never took Sculley to the hospital to be examined for rape after she made the sexual assault allegations, Newsday reported. She did receive an examination once she was taken to the jail, and the defense is still waiting on the results of that test, he said.
Prosecutors argued that Sculley and Carragher used drugs together and were watching TV in the bedroom of the basement of his parents’ home.
After an argument, Sculley pulled a knife from her purse and stabbed him in the neck while he slept, prosecutors allege. She then hid in the laundry room, covered in blood.
They said that Carragher managed to get up the stairs to his parents, screaming. He died in his father’s arms in front of his mother.
“We believe that this female individual made an arrangement,” Nassau County Police Detective Lt. George Darienzo told reporters on June 2 after Sculley’s arrest. “She was an acquaintance of our victim, who made an arrangement to get together that evening.
“The individual died in his father’s arms. No family should ever have to bear witness to the sudden killing of their son.”
Sculley was charged with second-degree murder — and flashed a chilling smile as she was escorted into court for her arraignment earlier this month.
The judge denied bail and ordered her remanded in jail on Wednesday. She is due back in court on July 24.
