Woman Who Fatally Stabbed Cousin in Oceanside Sentenced to 11 Years

A Tennessee woman who fatally stabbed a cousin after he pulled her off his girlfriend during a fight outside a family home in Oceanside was sentenced Monday to 11 years in state prison.

Lashauna Blanks, 25, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death last Dec. 5 of Jerry Faulkner of Las Vegas. She was sentenced by Vista Superior Court Judge Aaron Katz.

The victim's 18-year-old niece, Saquoia Ferrand, testified at an earlier hearing that Faulkner's girlfriend charged Blanks about 7:45 p.m. and the women fought in the front yard. The witness said the 35-year-old Faulkner twice pulled the defendant off his girlfriend, the second time by the hair.

Ferrand said she saw Blanks go into the house and return to the victim, who had his back to her. The witness said the defendant made a stabbing motion toward Faulkner's shoulder, and, before collapsing, he uttered, "The bitch stabbed me."

Back in the house, Blanks told Ferrand's grandmother, "I just killed your son," according to the witness.

The day Faulkner was stabbed to death, Ferrand said she and Blanks ran some errands before returning to the house on Los Arbolitos Boulevard.

The witness said Faulkner's girlfriend charged Blanks as she got out of the car. Blanks' two young children were still sleeping in the back of the car as the women fought, Ferrand said.

Jonathan Green, who lived behind the house where the stabbing took place, testified that he came out to see the women fighting on the grass but was surprised to see no one was doing anything to stop it.

He said a man – thought to be Faulkner – told him, "Just let 'em fight."

Relatives said disagreements between Blanks – a Memphis resident – and the victim's girlfriend had produced bad blood between the cousins.

–City News Service