Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 40-year-old Lashawn Lewis of Buffalo has been arraigned by State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia on an indictment charging her with Murder in the Second Degree for the 2005 stabbing death of her mother. 

It is alleged that on August 4, 2005, Lewis fatally stabbed her mother, 50-year-old Lateyfa Lewis, more than 40 times throughout her body inside the victim’s home at 97 Orange Street in Buffalo. 

If convicted of the charges, Lewis faces 25 years to life in prison. 

Lewis is currently in the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden serving a 90-day prison sentenced on an unrelated charge of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance. 

DA Flynn commends the investigative work of retired Detective Mark Stambach and retired Detective Sgt. Patrick Murphy of the Buffalo Police Department. 

Assistant District Attorneys Eugene T. Partridge III and Gary W. Hackbush are prosecuting the case. 

As are all persons accused of a crime, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.