GREENFIELD — A Deerfield woman was sentenced Tuesday to three years of probation after admitting in Franklin County Superior Court to stabbing the 82-year-old husband of a woman she was caring for as a personal care attendant last year.

Kady J. Flanagan, 29, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and was ordered to stay away from the victim and his wife as part of an agreement reached by the attorneys in the case. The prosecution initially asked for 2½ years in prison and Flanagan’s attorney had requested the case be continued without a finding for about three years.

“It really is a very serious, serious situation — to stab somebody,” Judge Karen Goodwin said before deciding to sentence Flanagan to probation. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Russo confirmed with the victim that he was comfortable with Flanagan being free and without GPS monitoring as long as she stayed away from him and his wife.

Russo explained to the court that on April 15, 2023, Flanagan had been employed as a caretaker for the victim’s wife for a year. He said Flanagan was in the kitchen retrieving water so her client could take medication when the victim entered on his motorized wheelchair to listen to his police scanner. Flanagan then took a knife and stabbed the victim on the right side of his stomach, who fended off a few more swipes before exiting the house to get help. He reportedly thought he had only been punched until he saw blood.

Responding police officers reported seeing the victim at the end of his driveway, wearing a white T-shirt soaked with blood and holding a blue cloth to the side of his stomach, while two women attempted to assist him. The victim is a double-amputee and wears prosthetics from the knees down.

Flanagan left the house and immediately went to the Montague Police Station voluntarily to speak with officers. She told police she stabbed the victim because he made sexual advances toward her, allegedly a continuing pattern. Flanagan told police she could have left the room, and she did not tell the victim to go away or that she was uncomfortable with his advances. She reportedly had a panic attack and was taken to the hospital. She was eventually arrested and arraigned in Greenfield District Court before the case was transferred to Superior Court due to its severity.

Russo said his client denies ever making sexual advances toward Flanagan.

“His main concern is trying to understand why this happened,” he told Goodwin. “I give him credit for that approach.”

Flanagan’s defense attorney, Stephen Shea, said he would make no excuse for Flanagan’s actions but said she suffered from mental health problems and the alleged provocation from the victim. He also mentioned police officers ignored his client’s request to stop talking about the incident during questioning at the hospital. Flanagan also apparently elaborated that the victim had repeatedly made sexual innuendo and double entendre.

Flanagan told Goodwin she is in college studying health science.

“She’s someone who hopefully has a future in front of her, besides this horrible event,” Shea said.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.