BOSTON, Nov. 17, 2014—The woman who stabbed her abusive boyfriend to death this summer was acting in self-defense and will not face criminal charges, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced today.

Prosecutors’ decision not to charge the 26-year-old Dorchester resident came after a three-month investigation into the July 31 stabbing of Emmanuel Jeudi inside the victim’s Washington Street apartment. That investigation – which included witness interviews, forensic analysis of evidence at the scene, the opinion of state pathologists, a review of prior allegations of domestic violence involving Jeudi, and legal analysis by Suffolk homicide prosecutors – revealed that the woman acted reasonably and lawfully to defend herself, Conley said. She is not being publicly identified because she is not accused of a crime.

“The use of lethal force in self-defense can be prosecuted in some circumstances, but criminal charges were not appropriate given these facts,” Conley said. “There was no evidence of excessive force, premeditation, or malice. This was a case of a domestic violence victim protecting herself against serious injury or worse at the hands of her abuser inside her own home.”

Specifically, the investigation revealed the following:

Shortly before 7:00 p.m. on July 31, the woman called 911 from her apartment to report that Jeudi had physically assaulted her. Boston Police dispatched a cruiser to the scene. A short time later, Boston Police received a second 911 call from the apartment that ended when the caller hung up. When they returned the call, there was no answer. Officers arrived on scene a short time after that, as the woman was speaking to 911 dispatchers during a third call. In a state of extreme emotional agitation, she stated that she had to defend herself and had stabbed Jeudi.

Officers found Jeudi unresponsive just outside the woman’s apartment. Emergency medical technicians pronounced him dead at the scene. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that he died of a single stab wound to the chest that penetrated his heart.

After being informed of her Miranda rights, the woman gave a full statement to Boston Police homicide detectives in which she said Jeudi had beaten and strangled her that evening and in the past. When he became violent that evening, she said, she attempted to call 911 but he took her phone and smashed it. She retrieved a kitchen knife and held it out to ward him off. It was then that Jeudi charged at her and suffered his fatal injury. The woman attempted to revive him, to no avail.

The woman’s statement was corroborated in almost every respect, prosecutors said. Boston Police criminalists recovered Jeudi’s palm print on her broken phone. Neighbors reported hearing the sounds of a long and violent struggle coming from the woman’s apartment. A relative told investigators that the woman had called her during a verbal argument that preceded the physical fight; the relative said she heard the sound of the phone dropping before the call terminated. When the woman called her back a short time later, she was hysterical and said she had stabbed Jeudi.

In the course of their investigation, police and prosecutors learned that Jeudi had beaten the woman in the past. She called police following one of those incidents and obtained a restraining order against Jeudi, who was charged with assaulting her, but she later dropped the restraining order and determined that she did not want to proceed with the criminal case. The woman’s relatives told investigators that they were aware of other, unreported acts of violence by Jeudi against the woman on multiple prior occasions. Jeudi was about seven inches taller and about 40 pounds heavier than the woman.

Conley said the victims of any crime, including domestic violence, should call 911 in an emergency. SafeLink, a statewide DV hotline, can be reached at 877-785-2020. SafeLink is answered by trained advocates 24 hours a day in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, as well as TTY at 877-521-2601. It also has the capacity to provide multilingual translation in more than 140 languages. The GLBTQ Domestic Violence Project Hotline can be reached at 1-800-832-1901 and is also available around the clock.

“If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, then please don’t hesitate to ask for help,” Conley said. “Your safety is more important than anything else, and there’s a broad array of law enforcement and social services available to you.”

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.