Dawn Peel of St. Paul awoke boyfriend with a kiss, asked if he loved her, then slit his throat

What would she have done had he said he didn't love her?

Around 1 a.m. Monday, Dawn Peel, 50, awoke her 39-year-old boyfriend with a kiss, then asked him if he loved her. When he affirmed he did, she said, "This is the last time you're going to see me," then went at his throat with a sharp knife, "[cutting] at his neck like she was slaughtering a 'goat' or 'cow,' sawing back and forth."

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No, that's not the plot of a new, gory Halloween flick. It actually happened, according to police, and as a result Peel faces attempted murder and assault charges that could land her in prison for more than a quarter century.

It went down in the man's apartment, which is located at 627 Aurora Avenue in St. Paul, near the intersection of Dale and University. Despite sustaining a 5.5-inch long, half-inch deep gash that curved up and down his neck and required surgery to close, the victim is expected to recover. Twenty-three staples were needed to close his wound.

The victim told police he remembered Peel kissing him, then next thing he knew -- "BOOM! The knife."

Police found the man in the lobby of his apartment building, covered in blood. Fox provides details about Peel's condition when officers subsequently entered the victim's apartment:

When police went to the apartment, they found the door was unlocked with a security latch holding it about 2 inches open. When police knocked and asked for someone to open the door, a woman responded saying she was too scared because "he might be there."

Peel eventually opened the door, and police say she was completely nude. Her hair was wet, but her face, the right side of her body and her right leg had slight blood stains on them; however, she had no visible injury.

Police also noticed there was pink-tinted water in the sink and bathtub. Officers also found a large knife with water and diluted blood on it in a kitchen drawer.

Peel tried to sell police on the notion her boyfriend had beaten her before the stabbing, but she had no visible injuries. Officers asked her if she'd been drinking, to which she replied, "not enough." According to the victim, Peel had been drinking all day Sunday and at one point had taken a drunken tumble, hurting her knee.

The victim told police that Peel had assaulted him numerous times since their relationship began in December of last year, but her mental state apparently really went off the rails in recent weeks.

From the Pioneer Press:

A couple weeks earlier, the man said, Peel threatened to take revenge on him "while he was sleeping" if he ever cheated on her. She had assaulted him three other times, he said, and he called her controlling and jealous...

[The victim] told police he had earlier warned his girlfriend that she had 24 hours to check herself into the hospital.

Peel declined a police interview at Ramsey County Jail, where she continues to be held pending $75,000 bail.