MoQuita Green, 24, allegedly stabbed her boyfriend, 24-year-old Angel Asenjo Jr., once in the chest with a regular kitchen steak knife after an altercation between the two.
Green was present with her counsel, Carrollton attorney Jason Swindle, for the bond hearing before Coweta Circuit Judge Jack Kirby in a Carroll County courtroom.
Kirby set the bond at $100,000, with special conditions that she have no contact with any of the victim’s family members or potential witnesses and that she wear an ankle monitor.
Swindle said his client acted in self-defense. Swindle said Asenjo was sexually assaulting the woman when she allegedly used the knife to deter him.
Assistant District Attorney John Cunningham, representing the state, disagreed that Green’s act was justified, saying that there were no signs of struggle in the kitchen and that the couple’s two roommates were at home during the fight, but did not hear Green call for help. The state opposed the bond motion.
Green, who faces one charge of malice murder, called 911 and told the dispatcher that she had stabbed her boyfriend shortly after 7 a.m. that Friday. Asenjo was found to not have any weapons on him when police arrived.
The incident took place at Magnolia Lake apartments on Burns Road in Carrollton.
Asenjo, whose father lives in Carrollton and whose mother lives in Katy, Texas, was taken to Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton, where he was pronounced dead.
Swindle told Kirby that he is aware that a person charged with this type of offense does not come up often for bond hearings.
“But I think this is an extremely defensible case, and I think bond would be appropriate,” Swindle said. “She called 911 immediately and when police arrived, she told them exactly what happened.”
Cunningham made note that the stab wound was “straight in,” as opposed to being done with a swinging motion, which would suggest more of a struggle.
Swindle called three witnesses to the stand to testify on his client’s behalf, including one of the roommates who was in the other room when the fight occurred. The roommate, who has moved to Kennesaw since the incident, said it was common for the couple to argue, and that she once heard the two arguing and later saw bruises on Green, which the defendant said resulted from the victim striking her.
The roommate testified that while Green is “very verbal” and can be temperamental, she would not feel threatened if the defendant were released from incarceration.
Swindle noted that the foremost consideration in placing a bond should be the probability that a defendant will appear at subsequent court appearances.
Each of the three witnesses, including the roommate, Green’s estranged husband and her former work partner, said Green is “dependable” and would attend all court proceedings on the matter.
“She has a plausible defense and has a reason to come back and show her face,” Swindle said. “I think we’ve met the criteria needed.”
Six family members and friends of Asenjo were present for the bond hearing, asking the judge to deny the motion.
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