The 20-year-old suspect claims she was acting in self-defense in the death of Jennira Roundtree.
Jasmin Thompson is charged with second degree murder, manslaughter, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Roundtree was killed last Tuesday. She was stabbed and slashed after her friends say she tried to intervene in a fight involving 20 women.
She was stabbed in the chest and slashed in the stomach before being taken to Richmond University Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
Her friends say Roundtree always walked around with a smile and was passionate about helping the kids in the community stay off the streets.
A friend said Roundtree rushed downstairs to help after learning one of her four children was in the middle of a large crowd of 20 women engaged in a dispute.
"This neighborhood was important to her because she wanted different for all the kids coming up. And she was trying to make a difference, and she was," her friend said.
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