Inset: Katerina Ivanovna Markiv (Stearns County Jail). Background: Apartment in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where Markiv allegedly stabbed her boyfriend to death (Google Maps).
A young woman from Minnesota is currently in custody following allegations that she fatally stabbed her boyfriend amid what she described as a “stupid argument.”
Katerina Ivanovna Markiv faces charges of second-degree murder for the death of 25-year-old Quinton McKay Hughes at her St. Cloud residence. According to the arrest affidavit, Hughes contacted 911 around 4 a.m. on Monday, reporting he had been accidentally stabbed after a “minor disagreement.”
During the call, dispatchers noted Hughes was coughing and struggling to speak. Markiv then took over the conversation, indicating the stab wound was near his “left nipple” and reportedly apologized to Hughes during the call.
Authorities arrived swiftly at the apartment located on the 1200 block of Washington Memorial Drive, where they discovered Hughes unresponsive with a stab wound and a substantial amount of blood on both him and the floor, as detailed in the affidavit.
Emergency personnel attempted CPR, but ultimately Hughes was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following her Miranda rights being read, Markiv informed detectives that she and Hughes were coworkers who began dating in October. She recounted that Hughes picked her up after work the previous night, and they spent the evening at her apartment where she had been drinking. Markiv expressed that she desired to “have fun,” implying she wanted to be intimate, but Hughes was not interested.
Markiv said this prompted a “stupid a— argument” that she “kinda f—ing made up in her head.” She was trying to explain her side of the story but he kept “cutting her off” which “annoyed” her. The defendant was holding a knife and she swung it toward him, thinking she was going to just “scratch” the victim, per the affidavit.
“She stated, ‘something in my head got triggered to where my f—in’ hand just went forward and it f—ing shanked him and I’m like what the hell just happened?’” cops wrote. “Defendant further stated, ‘it just happened. It literally just a reflex of mine. I sometimes don’t even know my own strength either.’”
Markiv told Hughes to call 911 while she put pressure on his wound. She said she did not want the victim to die.
Investigators spoke with two of the suspect and victim’s co-workers. One said Markiv would become “upset and very unhappy.” The other employee said that Markiv told him last week that “she gets so crazy to the point she will kill somebody.”
The defendant remains in the Stearns County Jail. Her next court date is slated for Monday.
