Brick Woman Sentenced To 4 Years In Stabbing Death Of Fiancé

BRICK, NJ — A Brick Township woman has been sentenced to four years in prison in the stabbing death of her fiancé in 2019, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.

Ciara Williams, 28, will have to serve 85 percent of the sentence before she is eligible for parole under the No Early Release Act, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Williams pleaded guilty July 2 before Superior Court Judge Rochelle Gizinski to reckless manslaughter in the killing of Dennis Power, 35, who died Sept. 29, 2019. Williams drove Power to Ocean Medical Center in Brick and with a stab wound to the chest and left him there to be treated.

Hospital staff found Power unconscious but breathing and rushed him inside, but attempts to save his life failed, authorities said at the time. They later identified Williams as the person who had driven him to the hospital and then left, and as the person responsible for the stabbing, he said.

"Williams originally faced more significant charges with greater sentencing exposure, but legitimate self-defense claims arose during the course of the investigation which we were compelled to take into account in evaluating this very difficult case," Billhimer said.

"The claims of self-defense, coupled with considerable proof problems, led to a resolution which we believe to be fair and just after careful consideration of all the facts and circumstances," he said. "Williams has been made to answer for her crime, and will be required to spend the next few years in state prison as a result. We hope this prison sentence provides some level of peace and closure to the family of Mr. Powers."

Billhimer praised Senior Assistant Prosecutors Kristin Pressman and Mara Brater who handled the case on behalf of the State. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, Brick Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit investigated.

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