By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire
Shawanda Swain | Cook County Sheriff's Dept.
A South Side woman was sentenced to 12 years in prison Wednesday for stabbing her boyfriend, Damani Chenier, to death during an argument in her Hyde Park apartment in 2014.
Shawanda Swain was found guilty of second-degree murder after a bench trial on June 30 before Judge Dennis Porter, according to Cook County court records.
Swain stabbed the 23-year-old Chenier in the chest on Oct. 9, 2014, authorities said at the time.
Swain, 21 at the time, was arguing with Chenier about 3:10 a.m. inside her apartment in the 5100 block of South Hyde Park Boulevard when she grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed him once, authorities said. A neighbor called 911.
Damani Chenier | Facebook
Chenier, 23, of the 10000 block of South Vernon Avenue, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital about an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Swain, a home health care worker, was taken into custody after the attack. Her attorney argued she was being physically and verbally abused by her boyfriend, and acted in self-defense.
Judge Porter sentenced Swain to 12 years in prison during a hearing Wednesday, according to court records. She will receive credit for 671 days served in the Cook County Jail, and will have to serve two years of supervised release.