Niagara Falls Woman Who Killed Man Over $100 Fights to Cut Prison Time

A woman currently serving a 15-year sentence for a deadly stabbing is now asking the court to reduce her punishment citing a history of abuse and invoking a New York law designed for survivors of domestic violence.

Ashley Marie Berger, now 42, has spent the last decade behind bars after pleading guilty in 2014 to first-degree manslaughter in the killing of 22-year-old Richard Christian.

The incident took place at a Main Street motel in Niagara Falls where Christian was found fatally wounded outside a room in the early morning hours of April 27th, 2014.

Court records indicate that Berger and Christian had met for a transactional sexual encounter at the Rodeway Inn.

During the meeting, an altercation broke out when Christian allegedly attempted to retrieve the money he had paid Berger.

She then stabbed him once in the chest with a knife. Christian managed to stumble out of the motel room but collapsed outside.

He was rushed to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center where he soon thereafter died.

Berger is now returning to Niagara County Court, supported by a legal team from a prominent international law firm, to request relief under the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA).

The 2019 law allows survivors of abuse to seek sentence reductions if they can demonstrate that their trauma was a significant factor in the crime for which they were convicted.

Berger’s lawyers argue that she endured years of abuse prior to the incident and that those experiences played a direct role in her actions that night.

They’re asking for a reduced sentence - or potentially her release - under the DVSJA guidelines.

“This law recognizes that some individuals commit crimes not in a vacuum, but as a direct result of the abuse they’ve suffered,” said one of Berger’s attorneys, who requested anonymity due to ongoing court proceedings. “Ms. Berger deserves a second look.”

Niagara County prosecutors are opposing the request.

County Court Judge John Ottaviano has ordered a series of hearings to determine whether Berger qualifies under the DVSJA.

The court is expected to hear testimony from Berger herself as well as expert witnesses in the fields of trauma and abuse.

One of the expert witnesses expected to appear is Dr. Dawn Hughes, a nationally recognized forensic psychologist known for her involvement in high-profile cases including the trials of Harvey Weinstein and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Dr. Hughes is expected to discuss how Berger's history of trauma may have influenced her decision-making the night of the stabbing.

At the time of Berger’s conviction, former County Court Judge Sara Sheldon acknowledged the unusual circumstances of the case, describing the incident as one involving "bad decisions, not evil intent."

Berger, a mother of two with no previous criminal record, was described by her attorney at the time as a woman shaped by a long history of physical and sexual abuse dating back to her youth.

“The tragedy is not just the loss of Richard Christian,” said Berger’s former defense attorney Michael Santa-Maria in 2014, “but also what led this woman down a path that ended in prison. Two lives were ruined that night.”

When the DVSJA was passed, researchers at Brooklyn Law School estimated that nearly 500 incarcerated individuals across New York might be eligible for re-sentencing under the statute. Berger was among those identified as potentially qualifying.

To receive relief under the law, petitioners must show that they were victims of domestic abuse at the time of the crime and that the abuse significantly contributed to their criminal behavior.

The abuse may be physical, sexual, or psychological.

Niagara Falls Woman Who Killed Man Over $100 Fights to Cut Prison Time