Geneva County, Alabama— A woman who is accused of taking a man on a fake date where he was almost killed by stabbing him pleaded guilty on the day her trial was supposed to begin.
Tuesday, June 22, Shalyn Diaz admitted that she had tried to kill Matthew Angelino by cutting him and taking him hostage.
On Monday, Diaz’s trial was supposed to begin, but she pleaded guilty instead. Judge William Filmore gave her a ten-year prison term and told her to pay a $1,000 fine.
After Diaz was given her term, her lawyers asked for a lighter one. On August 14, Judge Filmore will hear their case for a lighter term.
In January 2024, Diaz and her accused partner in crime, Robert Lane Hall, were both arrested.
The Geneva County Sheriff’s Office says that Diaz set up a fake date for Angelino in January. The two of them then rode around rural Geneva County roads while Hall hid in the trunk of Diaz’s car.
Officer Cory Dean says that after the car stopped, Diaz got Angelino to put on chains and a blindfold while Hall got out of the trunk, crept into the backseat, and started choking him with a cord and stabbing him with a knife.
Diaz opened the door, and Hall dragged Angelino out of the car by the neck cord. He then cut him several times on the side of the road, and Hall drove off, leaving him to die, according to Investigator Dean of WDHN. Nineteen stab wounds were made on Angelino.
A driver later found Angelino on Holmes Creek Road. He was still in handcuffs and the cord was around his neck.
This month, Hall pleaded guilty to the same charge and was given a life term in prison.
Sheriff Tony Helms of Geneva County said he thinks Hall’s harsh sentence was because he had a long past of crimes in at least two counties.