VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A Virginia Beach judge on Tuesday convicted a woman charged with stabbing a man to death with a screwdriver.
Nicole Foxx was arrested in March 2017 for the death of 65-year-old Richard Bielitz, who was found inside of a home off Princess Anne Road. Investigators believed that the incident started while Foxx was giving Bielitz a massage, and that the 65-year-old put a screwdriver to her throat before a struggle ensued.
Prosecutors said Foxx stabbed Bielitz 40- 50 times with the screwdriver.
The judge ruled Tuesday the number of stab wounds to Bielitz is beyond self-defense, but was not convinced this was second-degree murder.
Foxx is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
Tuesday, Foxx testified in her own defense, telling the judge Bielitz often made sexual comments toward her and was frequently drunk and angry. However, she never felt threatened. In court, she said she went to his room late at night to give him a massage. That’s when she says he started groping her and threatening to hurt her with a screwdriver if she made a sound. She says she fought him – getting the screwdriver and then swinging it until he got off of her.
The medical examiner says Bielitz had 40-50 stab wounds and likely died from blood loss.
The prosecution spent the majority of the day picking apart Foxx’s testimony and pointing out its inconsistencies with her statement to police. In closing arguments, the attorneys called her a liar and deceitful – emphasizing the fact that she killed Bielitz, took the money he was giving her for the massage, and cooked for everyone in the house the next day.
The defense admitted Foxx did not tell police about the killing and lied to them through five hours of questioning. But, they said she was a previous victim of sexual assault and acted in self-defense.
The judge ultimately ruled that this was not a self-defense case, saying 40-50 stab wounds went beyond self-defense. However, she did not believe the case qualified as 2nd degree murder.
Brian Bielitz, Richard Bietliz’s brother, said the family is disappointed. He said, “There were a lot of stories told in the courtroom that we obviously do not believe, knowing our brother. We wished … we only wish that he was here to tell his side of the story, instead of having three people who live in the house make him out to be a villain.”
Now, they hope Foxx receives the maximum sentence.
“My brother is dead. She’s alive, she was up there almost celebrating in the courtroom that she only got voluntary manslaughter. She can go to hell,” said Brian Bielitz. “My brother told us once, that it’s time to forgive. I’m not ready for that. Nope, so no forgiveness yet.”
