MARYSVILLE – A year ago today, Aaron Tyler Lemmon was stabbed in the back with a sword by his ex-fiance while their two children were sleeping in the house.

Karlene April Landert, 32, pled guilty in December to second-degree domestic violence assault. She was sentenced to 26 months in prison followed by 18 months of community custody, Michael C. Held of the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office says in an email to The Marysville Globe.

She also agreed to chemical dependency and mental health evaluation and treatment, along with fines and restitution.

The stabbing occurred in the 4900 block of 61st Drive NE on Jan. 25, 2019. Police reports say Landert called police, saying she’d stabbed Lemmon. Police found him face-down in a bedroom.

Probable cause papers say Lemmon was in the kitchen when Landert stabbed him from behind with a 25-inch sword. The weapon seared through his left lung, narrowly missing his heart. Lemmon begged her to call 9-1-1, but she didn’t until about an hour later.

When she finally called, she said, “My boyfriend was trying to kill me, and I stabbed him,” court papers say.

Landert told police they had been fighting, and he tore apart some of her jewelry. She yelled at him, he hit her, and she fell and hit her head. She saw the sword and stabbed him in self-defense.

Detectives doubted her story. They believed she attacked the man when he was defenseless.

They added she showed no signs of being upset.

Lemmon, 32, was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett. He ended up losing half of a lung. Surgeons said Lemmon will have a long recovery ahead of him.

Children’s Protective Services took the children, ages 2 and 8 months at the time.

Papers go on to say Lendert tried to contact Lemmon by phone from jail twice, despite a no contact order. The State is concerned that the defendant poses a substantial risk to the victim’s safety, the papers conclude, so bail was set at $500,000.

Court papers show the couple had a history of abuse, protection orders and a custody dispute.

Records from the custody case show the woman suffered a brain injury in a car crash over a decade ago. She has been diagnosed with multiple mental health disorders. She also has struggled with addictions and relapses, published reports say.

The couple asked to have the custody case dismissed in 2017 as they’d gotten back together.

Lemmon’s family members say he stayed with her for the children.