By Khalida Sarwari
A Westmont High School math teacher may be facing assault with a deadly weapon charges after she allegedly stabbed her friend’s estranged husband with a kitchen knife earlier this month.
Mary Donnetta Torrecillas, 42, was arrested at her Campbell apartment a little after midnight on Nov. 2, according to police. Officers responded to her residence on a report of a disturbance at about 12:30 a.m., said police Capt. Charley Adams.
“When we got there, the male had knife wounds to his hands and shoulder,” Adams said. “Through the investigation they determined that Mary had inflicted those injuries with a knife.”
The victim is the estranged husband of a friend of Torrecillas, who had been staying at her apartment, Adams said. That evening, he had stopped by the apartment and knocked on the door. An argument erupted among the three of them and the women told him to leave. Adams said the argument escalated into a fight during which Torrecillas allegedly stabbed the man.
Officers arrested her on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon while the victim was taken to a hospital, where he received treatment for his wounds. His injuries were not considered life-threatening, Adams said. The motive for the crime is under investigation, he said. The victim and his wife were separated at the time, but not divorced.
As of Nov. 13, prosecutors had not yet filed charges against Torrecillas. Her bail was set at $25,000, according to Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Lisa McCrary. She is free on bail but was scheduled for an arraignment on Nov. 16.
The maximum sentence for an assault with a deadly weapon charge is four years in state prison.
Westmont high math teacher arrested after altercation leads to stabbing
