A woman found guilty of manslaughter for impulsively stabbing her boyfriend during an argument has been sentenced to eight years in prison, a judge ruled last week.

“I find that (Kaila) Dupuis stabbed (Jason) Paglia in the course of an intense and angry argument. She did not intend to kill him, nor did she know that her actions were likely to cause his death, but she did intend to stab him,” Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell wrote in her sentencing decision.

During the trial Dupuis, 23, emotionally testified that Paglia, 28, had hit her and threatened her in the past. She told the jury that on the night of Dec. 2, 2011 she was trying to defend herself from Paglia who threatening her with a knife.

Dupuis maintained that she never picked up a knife that night, and did not know how Paglia was stabbed.

Forestell found that Dupuis was not a victim of domestic abuse in the relationship, ruling that the couple both had occasional angry and abusive outbursts in their “volatile” relationship.

On Dec. 2, 2011, Dupuis threatened Paglia with a knife as they argued in her apartment near Avenue Rd. and Wilson Ave. and they began to struggle, Forestell wrote in her decision. Dupuis struck at Paglia at least twice with the knife, according to his wounds, as he tried to disarm her, the judge found.

After Paglia was stabbed in the heart, the jury heard, he made his way to his car in the underground parking garage where he was later found by Dupuis. She said she attempted to get him help.

However, before she followed Paglia, she admitted to trying to clean some of the blood in her apartment — an aggravating factor considered by Forestell.

“I have found that Ms. Dupuis did not appreciate the gravity of the injury and did not know that the injury was life-threatening,” Forestell wrote. “She did, however, know that Mr. Paglia was wounded. Knowing this, she failed to assist him. Instead, she attempted to clean the blood from her apartment. She put her own self-interest ahead of the medical needs of Mr. Paglia.”

The offence also occurred in a domestic situation, which is a breach of trust, Forestell found.

In the decision, Forestell noted that the pre-sentencing report shows Dupuis has a history of being physically abused. She also notes that Dupuis, who “appears to be an intelligent and hardworking person and a good parent,” had no criminal record and was attending college at the time of the offence, is working towards rehabilitation and has shown remorse for causing Paglia’s death.

The Crown sought a sentence of ten years, the defence between three to five years. Dupuis, who was credited with an extra year for time spent in pre-trial custody, has five years left to serve on her sentence.