Woman Admits Fatally Stabbing Boyfriend in St. Cloud Apartment

(KNSI) – A woman has admitted to stabbing her boyfriend to death in her St. Cloud apartment last year.

According to court records, 24-year-old Katerina Ivanovna Markiv pleaded guilty in Stearns County District Court to second-degree unintentional murder in the death of 25-year-old Quinton McKay Hughes.

As part of a plea agreement reached last week, prosecutors will dismiss a charge of second-degree intentional murder. Markiv agreed to a sentence of 13 and a half years in prison, with credit for time served. She will also be ordered to pay about $6,000 in restitution.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called to Markiv’s apartment on the 1200 block of Washington Memorial Drive at about 4:00 a.m. on December 8th. Officers found Hughes on the floor with a stab wound to his chest while Markiv applied pressure to the wound. Officers performed CPR until paramedics took over, but Hughes was later pronounced dead.

Markiv told investigators she had been drinking through the night before the two started arguing. She said she got angry because Hughes kept interrupting her, and she swung a knife she had at her side, stabbing him in the chest. She told police she didn’t want him to die and admitted to having anger issues.

The two had started dating in October 2025 and worked together.

Markiv will remain in the Wright County Jail until her sentencing, set for January 19th at 1:30 p.m. in Stearns County District Court.

___