STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A transgender woman from Staten Island is finally out of prison, but she is far from free.

Antonio Bohanna, who fled from the south to New York City three years ago, thought life would be better in the big city.

But after an abusive relationship and a traumatic stint in jail for killing her partner during a domestic dispute, it's been a tumultuous transition.

"I thought I could be more free here," Bohanna said in an interview with the Advance. "But I still feel like I'm in jail."

Bohanna spent about a year behind bars before pleading guilty to manslaughter for fatally stabbing her boyfriend last year.

She was sentenced to six months in prison and five years' probation, and released on time served.

"Even though I'm out, my life will never be the same," Bohanna said. "Sometimes I don't want to live."

'IT WAS AN ACCIDENT'

On March 4, 2016, Bohanna and her partner, Kamel Milhouse, 26, got into a heated verbal altercation that quickly escalated into a physical struggle, she said.

Bohanna claims Milhouse was drunk and desperate for drugs when he initiated the fight in their Sea View home.

She claims he beat her for 15 minutes before he grabbed a four-inch kitchen knife off the counter and jumped at her. When Milhouse came at her, she said, she twisted his hand that was holding the knife and he stabbed himself in the left side.

"It was an accident," Bohanna said. "He tried to choke me. I had knots on my head, a swollen face and cuts on my hand from fighting with him."

Bohanna claims Milhouse begged her not to call 911 because he had an active bench warrant against him, but after a few minutes she called for help because he was bleeding.

Officers responding to a 911 call about an assault found Milhouse with a stab wound to his back at about 12:15 a.m., according to an NYPD statement.

When the ambulance arrived, she said, an EMS worker was trying to stop the bleeding, but Milhouse was resisting.

He was then rushed to Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, where he was pronounced dead.

"I'm sorry he's gone," she said. "I hurt every day."

'NEVER KNEW HE WAS DEAD'

Bohanna was taken to the 121st Precinct stationhouse in Graniteville and interrogated by homicide detectives.

She said she was there from 2:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. answering questions about the incident.

"I stuck him," Bohanna told detectives as they arrested her for allegedly knifing her partner to death, according to the criminal complaint.

But, she said, she thought the police were trying to help her because they were treating her like the victim, when she was really a suspect.

"I never knew he was dead while they were questioning me," Bohanna said. "I was in shock when they told me. I still feel shock. Sometimes I can't believe it's real."

Bohanna was initially charged with second-degree murder, but a grand jury declined to indict her on that charge. Instead, she was indicted on counts of second-degree manslaughter and fourth-degree criminal weapon possession.

She was arraigned in state Supreme Court and bail at $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash was set.

But Bohanna didn't have the money, and spent a year bouncing around to various city jails, including a harrowing stay at Rikers, where there is no transgender unit.

During her incarceration in general population, she said, she was raped twice and assaulted three times.

She was then placed in protective custody at the facility, she said.

Before her third day in jail, Bohanna admitted she tried ending her life by taking 100 pills. She then spent two weeks at Bellevue recovering, she said.

"I couldn't take it anymore," Bohanna said. "Jail is hard for transgender people.

"That's why I took the plea. I wanted to go to trial, but knew it would take a long time."

A Department of Corrections spokesperson did not provide specifics about Bohanna's time at Rikers.

But in a statement to the Advance said: "DOC has a zero tolerance policy with regard to sexual abuse. As part of our top-to-bottom reform initiative, we are working to bring our agency into compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act."

'ADDICTED TO ABUSE'

Bohanna said she and Milhouse dated for about 15 months, and it was physical and violent throughout the relationship.

She claims her ex would punch, choke, spit on her, hit her with a bottle and even pulled a gun on her.

In one incident, she said he was attacking her outside the 121st Precinct stationhouse and a plainclothes detectives brought two officers to help her. In another incident, Milhouse charged at her with a knife while she was on the phone with 911, she said.

Court records show Milhouse was arrested on Staten Island 10 times after Bohanna filed complaints. The charges included robbery and assault.

"He was never locked up," she said. "They would just let him go and give an order of protection."

Milhouse, an ex-con, had a total of 66 arrests and was incarcerated several times, according to court records.

Bohanna documented the abuse by visiting Safe Horizon, a victim's assistance organization. In 2015, she went there about 40 times to get help with safety planning, crisis intervention and counseling.

But, she admits, if Milhouse was still alive, she would be with him.

"I'm addicted to abusive relationships," she said. "It made me feel like a woman because he was controlling and would put his hands on me."

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