41-Year-Old Woman Accused of Stabbing Boyfriend in Argument Over Air Conditioning

Amy Dougherty, a 41-year-old resident of Winchester Road south of Favoretta, is at the Flagler County jail on a second-degree felony charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after allegedly stabbing her boyfriend of 26 years during an argument over an air-conditioning unit he had turned off.

J.W., the 40-year-old victim, bled “profusely,” according to the woman’s arrest report, and was treated at AdventHealth Palm Coast.

The incident took place Thursday evening at the house on a 5-acre homestead just west of Plantation Bay. The alleged victim told Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies that he’d cut the power to the air conditioning in the house–he didn’t say why–making Dougherty “mad.” They have separate bedrooms. She walked into his room and took out the window unit, causing an argument that spilled into the bathroom.

There was arguing and shoving. According to the alleged victim, Dougherty grabbed a pair of scissors and swung at him several times, cutting his arm and hand. He told deputies he was bleeding so much that he was fearing for his life–and called for his 48-year-old brother, who ran to a neighbor to call for law enforcement.

By then Dougherty had left the house and was hiding in the woods. A deputy located her by hearing the sounds of someone walking or running through the woods, and after calling out to her, she agreed to come out and speak with Cpl. Richard Petkovsek. According to her arrest report, she acknowledged grabbing the scissors and swinging them at her boyfriend, saying she’d done so because he’d had his hands around her neck.

She said the scissors were still in the bathroom. The victim declined to complete paperwork, and deputies had to obtain a search warrant to secure the scissors. Dougherty was booked at the Flagler County jail, where she remained Friday on $10,500 bond (she also faces a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence.) She faces a no-contact order regarding the victim and his brother.