N.J. Woman Accused of Stabbing Husband to Death with Metal Nail-Clipper File

A New Jersey woman has been charged with murder after allegedly fatally stabbing her husband with a small nail-clipper file.

Early in the morning of Jan. 12, 35-year-old Axel Torres was found lying covered in blood outside the mobile home he and his wife, Katheleen Ayala, shared in Millville, NJ.com, Vineland Daily Journal and WPVI report. He had been stabbed and was unresponsive.

Ayala, 30, allegedly told police she stabbed her husband with the sharp metal file that accompanied a set of nail clippers. She claimed she “only meant to to scare him,” according to an affidavit of probable cause, and said she did not intend to kill him.

The couple had been fighting inside the home when Torres reportedly walked out of the trailer. That’s when Ayala followed her husband and chased him with the clippers around the mobile home park, police said. When they got to a wooded area, she allegedly began to stab him.

After the attack, Torres took the clippers from his wife, Ayala told police. However, police were unable to locate the clippers during their search of the property.

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Torres was transported to a local hospital while Ayala was charged with second-degree aggravated assault and weapons offenses. The following day, Torres died of his injuries and Ayala was charged with first-degree murder.

On Friday, Ayala, appeared before a Cumberland County Superior Court judge for a preliminary hearing. She remains behind bars in Cumberland County Jail.

In addition to murder, Ayala has been charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Her private attorney, Nino V. Tinari, was not available for comment Monday.