A Hammond woman faces charges after fatally stabbing her boyfriend, court records allege.

Stacy M. Smith, 47, was charged Sept. 17 with murder in 53-year-old Tommy Washington III’s March 24 death. Her case was unsealed Saturday.

She was extradited last month from Pasco County, Florida.

Smith appeared in court Monday, where she said she’d hire a private lawyer.

Hammond police responded March 24 to the 2300 block of 169th Street for a homicide. Officers saw Washington through a locked screen door lying on the floor. He was pronounced dead at the scene around 8 a.m.

He was stabbed in the chest, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office. His death was ruled a homicide.

Cops forced their way into the garage. Smith was sitting in a running, parked silver Infiniti. She stabbed Washington after he slapped her, she told them.

She was out for her birthday weekend with Washington and two friends. When they got home, he took her phone and she started washing dishes.

She was washing a knife. When she said, “babe,” she turned around.

He slapped her, she stabbed him, but wasn’t sure where. Smith “panicked,” then called 911 around 3:21 a.m. Cops found her interviews partially credible.

They were together for a decade and she was waiting for his divorce to get married, the affidavit states. He never hit her before, she said.

After investigators told her he died she said she was “sorry” and the stabbing wasn’t intentional.

mcolias @post-trib.com