A Minnesota woman is potentially facing a 40-year prison sentence following a deadly confrontation with her boyfriend.

Katerina Ivanovna Markiv, aged 23, has been formally charged with the murder of 25-year-old Quinton McKay Hughes, as revealed by court records accessed by Oxygen.

On December 8, at 4:05 a.m., officers from the St. Cloud Police Department responded to a residence due to a reported “knife complaint.” They found Hughes critically injured. Prior to their arrival, Hughes had informed dispatchers that he had been stabbed during a “minor disagreement” with Markiv, according to details in the criminal complaint.

The complaint from Stearns County District Court’s 7th Judicial District notes that “law enforcement immediately began life-saving procedures on [Hughes].” Despite their efforts and continued CPR attempts until paramedics arrived, Hughes was pronounced dead at 4:36 a.m. inside the apartment.

Markiv is now facing two counts of second-degree murder, each carrying a potential maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars.

Markiv told investigators that their argument stemmed from Hughes not wanting to “have fun,” before clarifying that she meant sex, according to investigators. She also said that they had started dating in October (additionally, the two were coworkers). 

At multiple points, Markiv allegedly claimed to law enforcement that the stabbing was accidental, saying she tried to only “scratch” Hughes in response to him interrupting her and that she did not want him to die. 

Markiv allegedly added that she has anger issues and was enraged during their argument (following hours of admitted alcohol use), which ended with her allegedly stabbing Hughes with what police described as an eight-inch “boning style knife.” 

An attorney for Markiv could not be located for additional comment. 

Law enforcement later spoke with two individuals who worked at the same location with Marvik and Hughes. One of them told investigators that Markiv was known to get mad about certain things, but at the same time “never thought something like this would happen.” 

While in custody, Markiv allegedly told police that Hughes had never abused or assaulted her. 

She has a court hearing set for Dec. 17.