A District of Columbia jury has convicted a 32-year-old woman of voluntary manslaughter while armed in the June 2024 stabbing death of a man inside his Southeast D.C. apartment, closing out a three-week trial that ended with her facing far steeper prison time than the plea deal she turned down months earlier. Vanessa Bonaparte now awaits formal sentencing on November 13, 2026, after jurors rejected her claim that she acted in self-defense against 31-year-old Dwayne Boyd.
The case dates back to June 22, 2024, when D.C. police officers responded to an apartment building in the 3500 block of East Capitol Street SE after residents reported hearing an argument throughout the building, according to DC News Now. Officers found Boyd unresponsive in the back bedroom of the apartment, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Bonaparte was reportedly spotted leaving the building around the time of the stabbing. The Metropolitan Police Department's records from that period listed both Boyd and Bonaparte as having “no fixed address” at the time of the incident, and investigators initially classified the killing as domestic in nature, per the Metropolitan Police Department. Hoodline previously reported on Bonaparte's arrest and initial first-degree murder charge in the days after the killing.
A Plea Deal Rejected Before Trial
Bonaparte was originally indicted on first-degree premeditated murder while armed, but prosecutors offered her a plea deal in June 2026 that would have let her plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for a recommended sentence of five to 10 years in prison, with the murder charge dismissed. According to DC Witness, Bonaparte turned down that offer and instead opted for a jury trial. That decision now exposes her to a far higher ceiling: voluntary manslaughter while armed carries a potential maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison under D.C. law, even though Superior Court judges also weigh voluntary sentencing guidelines alongside that statutory maximum, the outlet's reporting notes.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz presided over the three-week trial, handling pretrial evidentiary motions before overseeing the jury proceedings, and he has scheduled Bonaparte's sentencing for November 13, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, which announced the guilty verdict.
Prosecutors Point to Forced Entry and a Voicemail
Trial evidence established that Bonaparte broke five window panes of Boyd's apartment to gain entry after being locked out prior to the fatal confrontation, the same outlet's coverage detailed. Defense attorneys countered that point by arguing police video showed Bonaparte had no glass cuts on her leg, raising questions about how the entry actually occurred. Prosecutors also introduced a voicemail recording captured during the confrontation that recorded Bonaparte arguing with Boyd and yelling obscenities as she forced her way into his apartment, with Boyd audible on the recording telling her to stop what she was doing.
A contract fingerprint specialist testified that 16 verified latent fingerprints matching Bonaparte, Boyd, and a witness were recovered from crime scene evidence, including an apartment window pane, as forensic analysts processed more than 100 crime scene photos and physical swabs in building their case. According to DC News Now, Boyd had followed Bonaparte into the kitchen to get her to leave before the stabbing occurred, and Bonaparte stabbed him in the chest using two knives.
Self-Defense Claim Versus a Motive Theory
Testifying in her own defense, Bonaparte claimed she grabbed two kitchen knives and stabbed Boyd only after he choked her in the kitchen to the point where she saw stars and lost bladder control, saying she acted so he would release her and let her flee. Her attorney argued throughout the trial that the stabbing was self-defense.
Prosecutors offered jurors a different explanation during closing arguments, contending that Bonaparte attacked Boyd out of anger over romantic rejection after he ended their sexual relationship to reconcile with his long-term partner, who was present in the apartment during the altercation. Jurors ultimately rejected a full acquittal but did not convict Bonaparte of murder, instead finding her guilty of voluntary manslaughter while armed in connection with Boyd's death.
A Case Amid a Broader Decline in D.C. Violence
The 2024 stabbing occurred as the District's overall homicide numbers were falling sharply. Homicides in Washington, D.C. dropped 32% in 2024 compared to 2023, falling from 274 to 187 annual killings, part of a citywide decline in violent crime that the Metropolitan Police Department says continued through 2025 and into 2026. Boyd's death nonetheless added to that year's toll before the broader trend downward took hold.
Bonaparte's sentencing hearing is set for November 13 in D.C. Superior Court, where Judge Kravitz will determine how much of the 30-year statutory maximum she will serve, a decision that will close a case stretching back more than two years to the argument that echoed through an East Capitol Street building.
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