Woman Who Fatally Stabbed Boyfriend 39 Times During Sex Game Is Released From Prison After 18 Years

After serving 18 years of her nearly 45-year prison sentence for stabbing her boyfriend to death in 2001, an Indiana woman has been freed.

Local outlets report Anastazia Schmid, now 45, was released on Tuesday.

Schmid was convicted of murder in 2001, but last May, that conviction was vacated. Subsequently, she pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Monday, and was freed the next day.

The Lafayette Journal & Courier reports that Schmid’s 44-year, 299-day sentence was reduced because of both her good behavior behind bars and other time-cut credits she’d received.

Schmid will be on probation for the next two years, according to the Purdue Exponent.

According to both reports, Schmid stabbed her boyfriend, Tony Heathcote, 39 times on March 4, 2001, as he was blindfolded and restrained as part of a consensual sex game the couple was engaged in.

According to the Exponent, Schmid suffered a psychotic break, and heard a voice telling her Heathcote was an evil entity she needed to destroy.

In its May ruling, the U.S. District Court found that Schmid was mentally unfit for trial and unable to understand what was happening in the courtroom because of ineffective counsel, WWJ News Radio reports.

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According to the reports, Schmid admitted to the killing Monday and said she regretted her actions.

“I can’t erase the pain that I brought or bring Tony’s life back,” Schmid told the judge, according to the Exponent. “And a million apologies can never undo the past.”

The Heathcote family was upset with the deal.

“I believe with all my soul you are a manipulator and a liar,” said Alice Heathcote, Tony Heathcote’s stepmother, according to the Exponent.

“God will know the truth.”