ASHEVILLE, NC (FOX Carolina) – A woman was sentenced to nearly 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend in 2023.

On September 27, 2023, officers with the Asheville Police Department were called to an encampment on Smokey Park Highway in response to a call for assistance regarding a stabbing.

When they arrived at the scene, they found a victim with multiple wounds to his chest and several people trying to help him. The victim, identified as Dustin Lee Burwell, died at the scene.

Witnesses told investigators that as they walked toward the camp, they saw Burwell’s girlfriend, 28-year-old Kala Elaine Fralick, stabbing herself, according to authorities.

Authorities testified that witnesses saw Fralick leave the scene and made no attempt to help Burwell.

Investigators learned that Burwell and Fralick had been in a relationship for several years and struggled with addiction, according to the district attorney’s office.

According to authorities, Burwell had been admitted to an out-of-state residential treatment program and intended to end the relationship to continue treatment. They go on to say that the desire to end the relationship led to the stabbing.

Fralick appeared in court on November 4, 2024, and read a statement saying he regretted the stabbing, but claimed it was an act of self-defense because Burwell was drunk and aggressive.

He was sentenced to approximately 11 to 14 years in the custody of the North Carolina Adult Correctional Institution.

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