Investigators say Tonia Piontek reported the stabbing herself before officers found her fiancé dead inside the couple’s home.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The call that brought police to a Smith Street home began with a stark admission: Tonia Piontek told a dispatcher she had stabbed her boyfriend and feared he was not OK.
That 911 call has become one of the clearest early records in the Brown County homicide case against Piontek, 46. She is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of her 41-year-old fiancé on April 13, 2025. Prosecutors say the stabbing happened during a domestic dispute. Her defense has argued that domestic violence and self-defense claims are central to understanding what took place inside the home.
Police were sent to the couple’s home around 10 p.m. after Piontek made the emergency call. In the complaint summarized by local media, she told dispatchers, “I just stabbed my boyfriend, I don’t think he’s okay. Someone needs to get here now.” She said the couple had been fighting and that he had come at her. She also told the dispatcher that she often kept a knife nearby for protection. The call captured her account before officers questioned her, before lawyers entered the case and before the fatal scene was fully processed.
The words from that call now sit at the center of two competing views of the case. Prosecutors charged Piontek with intentional homicide, along with modifiers tied to domestic abuse and use of a dangerous weapon. The defense has signaled that it will focus on what Piontek said about fear, size difference and her claim that she did not know what else to do. Those statements do not settle the legal question, but they explain why the case has not moved quickly to either trial or a plea.
When officers arrived, they found the 41-year-old man in the kitchen area of the home. Police reports cited in the complaint said he was on the floor in a pool of blood and that a knife was found in his neck. The autopsy, according to local reports, said he died from a stab wound to the chest. The knife was described as a pastry chef knife, and later reporting said the blade measured 7.87 inches. The victim’s name has not been released publicly in the complaint, and police have identified him only as a Green Bay man.
Piontek’s own statements did not end with the 911 call. Police said she told them she had used a pastry chef knife in the stabbing. Officers also said she showed them bruises on her forearms after they arrived. She described those bruises as normal for her, according to the complaint. After that, investigators said, she stopped making comments and said she would wait until she had an attorney. That sequence gives the case a sharp timeline: emergency call, police arrival, visible injuries, limited additional statement and then the assertion of counsel.
Outside the home, a neighbor gave police another part of the timeline. The neighbor said the couple had been arguing for about an hour and a half before the stabbing. He also reported hearing a door slam and someone stomping inside. The neighbor told investigators he often heard the couple argue and had called 911 on them before. Those details may help lawyers frame the minutes before the stabbing, but the record available so far does not publicly answer exactly what happened in the final seconds before the knife was used.
The case moved into court two days after the stabbing. Piontek was charged in Brown County Court and appeared before a judge, who set a $1 million cash bond. Local reports from the first court appearance said she was barred from going to bars, taverns or liquor stores if released. The charge exposes her to the most serious punishment available under Wisconsin homicide law if she is convicted. She has remained in custody while the case has moved through arraignment, status conferences and plea discussions.
In July 2025, Piontek pleaded not guilty. By October, the court had set a December plea date. That expected step did not bring a final resolution. At a later hearing, defense attorney Bradley Schraven said he wanted to use a domestic violence expert before a plea deal was reached. In April 2026, Schraven said he still needed to discuss a plea offer with Piontek, and the expert’s report was not yet finished. Judge Marc Hammer then set another hearing for Aug. 17.
The 911 call is likely to remain important no matter how the case ends. If there is a plea, the call could shape the facts admitted in court and the way prosecutors describe the killing. If there is a trial, jurors could hear Piontek’s first recorded explanation in her own words. Prosecutors may focus on the admission that she stabbed the man. The defense may focus on her words about fear, a fight and the knife she said she kept nearby for protection.
The public record leaves several points unresolved. It does not identify the victim by name. It does not say whether prior 911 calls involving the couple led to arrests or charges. It does not include the domestic violence expert’s conclusions. It also does not show whether prosecutors have offered a reduced charge or a sentencing recommendation as part of plea talks. Those unknowns make the Aug. 17 hearing more than a routine scheduling date.
In Wisconsin, Tonia Piontek remains held in the Brown County Jail on a $1 million cash bond. The next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 17, when the court is expected to address plea discussions, the expert report and the path toward either a negotiated resolution or trial.
Author note: Last updated May 4, 2026.