A woman accused of murdering a Pelly Crossing man entered a guilty plea in Yukon Supreme Court this morning for the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Christina Asp, 26, entered the plea for the stabbing death of Keith Blanchard, before Justice Ron Veale and a full courtroom.

The stabbing occurred the night of Feb. 21, 2004.

The RCMP received a call at around 9:40 p.m. to respond to a stabbing in the residence of Johnny Simon in Pelly Crossing.

Upon arrival at the scene police found Blanchard lying on the living room floor in a pool of blood, with Asp leaning over him applying pressure to a stab wound in his chest.

The towel Asp was using to cover the wound, and her hands, were covered in blood, according to an agreed statement of facts read by Crown prosecutor Michael Cozens.

She appeared to have been crying, he said.

While emergency medical services were called in and attempted to stabilize Blanchard, he died in the ambulance at around 12:51 a.m. the following day.

The cause of death, Cozens said, was internal hemorrhaging caused by a single stab wound.

Asp and Blanchard had been arguing in the bedroom, Cozens told the court.

A number of people who were in and out of Simon's home over the course of the night said they heard the two arguing.

Over the course of the argument, Asp stabbed Blanchard with a 13-inch-long butcher knife. The blade measured an inch in width, the court heard.

The fatal chest wound was about six inches deep.

Another man in the house walked into the room and saw Blanchard lying on the floor, with blood spurting from his chest.

'I've just got stabbed,' Blanchard is reported to have said, Cozens told the court.

The man ran to the local health centre for help, as there was no phone in the residence.

When he returned, Asp was applying pressure to the wound. He heard her say, 'Hold on, Keith. I still love you. I'm sorry.'

Both Asp and Blanchard had very high blood alcohol levels, according to police reports, about three times higher than the legal driving limit.

Their relationship was described as volatile and marked by arguments and verbal abuse.

Both Asp and Blanchard had been charged with assault against the other, but none of the charges resulted in convictions.

Asp has been in and out of custody since the killing, because she broke her conditions of bail after her release.

She has spent 410 days in Whitehorse Correctional Centre, Cozens said.

While she does have a previous criminal record, he told the court it was not substantial.

The range of sentencing suggested by the Crown falls between two to six years.

'In this case here we are suggesting �- the range could go as high as six years.'

Sentencing should take into account the unique systemic factors that affect aboriginal people, Cozens told the court.

While the killing did involve excessive drinking, there is no evidence that Asp had planned the stabbing.

The fact that she used a knife, however, is consistently considered an aggravating factor in manslaughter cases, Cozens said.

This is because a wound inflicted with a knife can likely cause serious injury or death, he said.

Defence lawyer Ed Horembala was scheduled to make his submissions for sentencing this afternoon.