Background: News footage of the home in Green Bay, Wis., where Tonia Piontek allegedly stabbed her fiance on April 13, 2025 (WBAY). Inset: Tonia Piontek (Brown County Sheriff's Office).
A Wisconsin woman continued her legal saga in court this week in connection with the fatal stabbing of her fiance at their home last year.
Tonia Piontek, 46, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide with modifiers for domestic violence and the use of a deadly weapon after the stabbing death of her 41-year-old fiance in April 2025. The deceased victim has not been named publicly. In a Brown County, Wisconsin, court on Thursday, local Fox affiliate WLUK reported that Piontek's defense attorney was working with Piontek on a plea deal, but was still waiting for a report from a domestic violence expert.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by local ABC affiliate WBAY, Piontek said at the time of the incident that she used a knife to defend herself.
According to a report on the criminal complaint by local CBS affiliate WFRV, police said Piontek was the one who called 911 at 10 p.m. on April 13, 2025, and told dispatchers, "I just stabbed my boyfriend, I don't think he's okay. Someone needs to get here now!"
During the call, Piontek reportedly said that she and her fiance had been fighting when "he came at me." She added, "I often keep a knife nearby to protect myself and he's just got ya know (inaudible), I didn't know what else to do, he's a lot bigger than me."
Piontek told dispatchers that she and her fiance had been drinking that day when they started arguing before the alleged stabbing. Police said Piontek's neighbor heard the fight, as well as a door slamming, and someone stomping around the home. The same neighbor told police that he often heard the couple arguing and had called 911 on them before.
When police arrived at the scene, they found Piontek, who rolled up her sleeves to show them bruising on her forearms. She described the bruises as "just normal for me." According to the complaint, Piontek told police that she had friends who were lawyers and would not make any comments until she had an attorney.
Police said they found Piontek's fiance on the floor of the home's kitchen with a knife in his neck and lying in a pool of blood. While the complaint said the knife was found in the man's neck, the autopsy stated that he died of a stab wound to the chest. Piontek allegedly told police that she used a "pastry chef knife" in the stabbing.
Throughout her court proceedings, Piontek's defense attorney argued that his client was a victim of domestic violence. At a previous hearing in December 2025, the attorney said he wanted to provide testimony from a domestic violence expert before a plea agreement was reached.
Piontek is charged with first-degree intentional homicide with modifiers for domestic violence and use of a deadly weapon. She is still in custody at the Brown County Jail, where she is being held on $1 million cash bond. Her next court appearance was scheduled for Aug. 17.
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