Mariya Lynn Kelly from Cape Coral, pleaded no contest in Lee County Court for stabbing her mother, Melissa West.

Kelly faced charges of manslaughter with a deadly weapon and has been credited with 647 days served in Lee County Jail following her sentencing.

The stabbing occurred on July 17, 2020, at a home on the 2500 block of SW Embers Terrace.

Police arrived at the home to find Kelly in the front yard. Inside, police discovered the mother was suffering from a single stab wound to the chest, according to news reports at the time.

Kelly was interviewed by the police after being taken into custody and explained that she and her mother had not been getting on recently and that tension had been building.

She told investigators, on the morning of June 17, she was putting away the dishes when she and her mother began arguing.

Kelly was holding a knife during the argument, and her mother told her to put it down.

Kelly refused, and her mother became more upset and hit her over the head. Kelly said that is when she stabbed her mother.

During the altercation, Kelly’s own child and her two siblings were also in the home.

Police noted that when they told Kelly that her mother died, following a trip to a local hospital, she appeared to be in shock and began crying. She told police she did not intend to hurt her mother or for her mother to die.

Following the death of West in 2020, her co-workers spoke fondly of her to local media.

Joanna Elardo, the owner of Big Blue Brewing on SE 10th Place in Cape Coral, a microbrewery where West worked, said they were sad to hear of the news, according to a News Press report.

“She was very talented and a great mom and we miss her very much. Melissa was part of the Big Blue brewing family,” Elardo said.

Big Blue’s manager, Joe Termini, offered the family members help should they need it during their time grieving.

“Melissa was awesome. We closed yesterday for her. We’ll do a fundraiser or something and donate the proceeds to the family.

“She was beautiful. She was a bartender here for two years. I don’t know what happened.”

Newsweek has contacted the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for comment.