Cedar Rapids woman faces up to 20 years in fatal stabbing of boyfriend

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids woman who was set to go to trial Tuesday instead pleaded to lesser charges in the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend during an argument over him wanting to sell marijuana.

Charmisha Pirtle, 32, originally charged with second-degree murder, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and willful injury causing serious injury. She faces up to 20 years in prison and a 10- year mandatory minimum before being eligible for parole.

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If she went to trial and been convicted of second-degree murder, she would have faced up to 50 years with a 35-year mandatory minimum to serve.

Pirtle, who was pregnant at the time on Jan. 24, 2024, admitted during the hearing to stabbing her boyfriend, Anthony L. Fitts, 29, of Cedar Rapids, who was the father of her unborn child and another child. She also admitted the stabbing was done in the “heat of sudden, violent and irresistible passion” that resulted from “serious provocation” and that she acted without justification.

Pirtle, in admitting to willful injury, said she intended to cause serious injury to Fitts.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Valerie Clay said Pirtle faces up to 10-year mandatory minimum because a dangerous weapon was used in the crime. According to the plea agreement, the defense will argue at sentencing for a lesser mandatory minimum due to mitigating factors, which is up to the discretion of a judge.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Andrew Powers said Pirtle used a kitchen knife with a 7-inch blade to stab Fitts in his upper left chest, left hip, left hand and right knee. A knife blade 5 inches or longer is considered a dangerous weapon under Iowa law, he added.

Pirtle, who planned to claim self-defense or in defense of her unborn child, initially denied stabbing Fitts. She told police she had been gone and when she returned, she heard Fitts calling for help and opened the back door to find him with a stab wound and bleeding from his mouth.

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She called 911. When police arrived Jan. 24, 2024, at 1258 15th St. SE, they found Fitts outside the residence with multiple stab wounds. He was unable to speak and was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

According to a preliminary autopsy report, the fatal stab wound to Fitts was in the upper left side of his chest that penetrated “skin, muscle, rib cage and a lung,” a criminal complaint stated. He also had stab wounds to his left hip, his left hand and right knee.

Pirtle told police the two “always argue but we never fight” and admitted arguing with him recently when Fitts told her he was done with her.

A recently unsealed search warrant affidavit shows they had been in a verbal fight that day because Fitts wanted to sell marijuana but Pirtle didn’t want drugs in the house. She said Fitts was a “heavy” user of marijuana and would get “mean” if he smoked regularly.

On that day, Pirtle said she had gone to her sister’s house and Fitts said he was going to get some marijuana, according to the affidavit. Pirtle said they continued to argue over text messages or phone calls until Fitts stopped responding at 5:35 p.m.

Pirtle said she came back around 8:30 p.m. and had been home about 30 minutes when she heard Fitts yelling for help from behind the residence. That’s when she said she found with multiple stab wounds, according to the court document.

The affidavit stated that during the 911 call, a dispatcher heard Pirtle say “I’m sorry. I asked you to stop” and “You’re going to put me in jail.”

A witness who lived nearby told an investigator that she heard a male voice calling for help and a female voice saying “You’re not leaving me” at the time of the stabbing, according to the criminal complaint.

Surveillance video showed a person, later identified as Fitts, stumbling out the back door and falling backward into a pile of snow that was later found “saturated” in blood. Pirtle then came out the back door following Fitts, the video showed.

Fitts got up and walked along the back of the homes, around to the front where he collapsed, the complaint stated.

During the initial interview, Pirtle denied saying those things during the 911 call and said she had no idea who stabbed Fitts, the affidavit stated. Later on Jan. 25, 2024, she changed her story and admitted to stabbing him. She told investigators Fitts became physical and tried to “choke” her, so she grabbed a knife and stabbed him in self-defense. Officers found a kitchen knife in the sink, which tested positive for blood.

Pirtle said she also was hurt from the fight but officers couldn’t confirm any injuries on her, according to the complaint. She also told the investigator it was the “worst decision she’s ever made in her life” and knew what she did was wrong.

Pirtle was convicted in 2014 of two charges of second-degree harassment for threatening two women with a small knife, and in 2019 of assaulting another woman, according to Iowa court records.

Pirtle’s sentencing is set for June 13 in Linn County District Court.

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