The defense says an expert report is needed before Tonia Piontek decides whether to resolve the homicide charge by plea.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — A domestic violence expert’s unfinished report has become a key factor in the case of a Green Bay woman accused of fatally stabbing her fiancé during a fight at their home.
Tonia Piontek, 46, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the April 13, 2025, death of her 41-year-old fiancé. The charge includes domestic abuse and dangerous weapon modifiers. Prosecutors allege Piontek killed the man with a knife inside their Smith Street home. Her defense has not denied that she used the knife but has focused on why she used it, pointing to fear, bruising and her claim that she acted to protect herself.
The domestic violence issue surfaced early in the public record through Piontek’s statements on the night of the stabbing. During a 911 call, she said the couple had been fighting and that the man had come at her. She told the dispatcher that she often kept a knife nearby to protect herself and said she did not know what else to do because he was much larger than she was. When police arrived, she showed officers bruises on her forearms and described them as “just normal for me,” according to the complaint summarized in local reports.
Those details do not decide the case, but they have shaped the defense. At a December 2025 hearing, defense attorney Bradley Schraven said he wanted a domestic violence expert to provide testimony or analysis before any plea agreement was reached. By April 2026, Schraven said he still needed to speak with Piontek about a plea offer. The expert’s report remained unfinished, leaving the court to set another hearing instead of moving directly to trial or a completed plea.
Prosecutors have proceeded on the theory that the stabbing was intentional homicide. Police said Piontek called 911 around 10 p.m. and reported that she had stabbed her boyfriend. Officers found the man in the kitchen area, where he was lying in blood. The complaint said a knife was found in his neck, while the autopsy said he died from a stab wound to the chest. Local reports said the knife had a 7.87-inch blade and that Piontek described it as a pastry chef knife.
The defense focus on domestic violence could affect several parts of the case. It may influence whether prosecutors offer or accept a plea to a different charge. It could affect what evidence a judge allows at trial. It may also shape how jurors are asked to understand Piontek’s state of mind if the case is tried. A self-defense claim in a homicide case often turns on what the person believed at the moment force was used, but the public record so far does not include the defense expert’s conclusions.
The neighbor’s account adds context but also leaves questions. A neighbor told police the couple had been arguing for about an hour and a half. He said he heard a door slam and someone stomping around the home. He also told investigators that arguments between the two were common and that he had called 911 on them before. That history could be read in more than one way. It may support the idea of a volatile relationship, but it does not publicly establish who started the final confrontation or what each person did immediately before the stabbing.
After police reached the home, Piontek’s statements narrowed. Investigators said she mentioned having friends who were lawyers and said she would not make further comments until she had an attorney. That decision followed the emergency call and her initial contact with officers. The record now contains the call, the physical scene, witness observations and the autopsy findings, but it does not contain a full interview from Piontek after she invoked counsel.
The court process has stretched across more than a year. Piontek was arrested at the scene and charged shortly after the April 2025 stabbing. A judge set a $1 million cash bond at her first appearance. In July 2025, she pleaded not guilty. In October, the court set a December plea date. That date passed without a final resolution. In April 2026, plea talks remained active, and Judge Marc Hammer set a new hearing for Aug. 17. No trial date has been set.
The victim has not been identified publicly in the complaint, and police have released only that he was a 41-year-old Green Bay man. That limited release has kept public attention on Piontek’s charge and the court filings rather than on the man’s background. It also means many facts that might explain the relationship remain outside the public record, including whether earlier police calls produced reports, what those reports said and whether either person had sought court protection before the stabbing.
The pending expert report may be the next piece that changes the case. If the report strengthens the defense position, it could lead to further plea negotiations or new motions. If prosecutors reject that framing, the case may move closer to trial. Either path will require the court to deal with the same central question: whether the evidence proves intentional homicide or whether Piontek’s claim of fear changes the legal outcome.
Tonia Piontek is being held in the Brown County Jail on a $1 million cash bond, for now. Her next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 17, when the court is expected to return to the status of plea talks and the domestic violence expert’s report.
Author note: Last updated May 4, 2026.