SALEM — A 37-year-old Lynn woman was sentenced to up to 11 years in state prison on Monday for the fatal stabbing death of a Lynn man in 2019, according to the Essex district attorney’s office.
Beatrice Ortiz was convicted of killing Charles Stankiewicz, 36, on Aug. 19, 2019, when she stabbed Stankiewicz in the chest during a verbal argument. Judge Thomas Drechsler sentenced Ortiz during a hearing in Salem Superior Court where he heard victim impact statements from Stankiewicz’s mother and sister, among others.
Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Gillespie had argued for Ortiz to be sentenced to between 12 to 15 years in prison. Gillespie argued that “while there is no number of years that will bring Charles Stankiewicz back, this defendant escalated a verbal argument with the victim to a physical altercation involving a knife. The whole thing could have been avoided,” the office of Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement.
Gillespie also pointed to Ortiz’s record of assaultive behavior in her argument, telling Dreschler that, “she has had the benefit of probationary sentences over and over.”
During the trial, Gillespie introduced surveillance video from a business on Union Street in Lynn that “clearly showed” Ortiz reach for a knife while a bystander had intervened in the fight between her and Stankiewicz. Footage showed her then standing up and stabbing Stankiewicz in the chest.
He was later found lying between two cars at 110 Union Street with the knife still in his chest. Stankiewicz was transported to Salem Hospital where he later died.
Ortiz was represented by Attorney Michael Phelan and she received 1142 days of jail credit.
Correction: Due to a reporter’s error, a previous version of this story incorrectly attributed quotes from ADA Kimberly Gillespie. Gillespie was speaking to Judge Thomas Drechsler. The Item regrets the error.
Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected].
