Shirley woman pleads not guilty to manslaughter

A Shirley woman charged last November with stabbing her live-in boyfriend, who later bled to death, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to first-degree manslaughter.

Kathleen McGettigan, 56, was ordered held on $500,000 cash bail by Judge William Condon in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead.

A Suffolk grand jury last week indicted McGettigan on one count of first-degree manslaughter for stabbing David Harris, 45, in the leg on Nov. 27 after an argument in the couple's bedroom.

Police said at the time that McGettigan apparently struck an artery when she stabbed Harris in the thigh with a kitchen knife. Harris died at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center in East Patchogue.

McGettigan called 911 to report she had stabbed Harris, prosecutors said.

She told police Harris had dared her to "stick him with the knife" as the pair argued, prosecutors said.

McGettigan's attorney could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.

If convicted, McGettigan faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.