According to testimony Monday, a drug deal went sour leading to an alleged stabbing and robbery Feb. 15 in Butler.

The accused, Danielle N. Kline, 39, of Butler, appeared for a preliminary hearing before District Judge William Fullerton. Kline was escorted from Butler County Prison, where she remains in lieu of $50,000 bond.

Kline is charged with felonies attempted homicide, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and robbery.

When she was charged, police believed Kline stabbed a woman over $80; however the alleged victim, Jessica Brown, testified she later revised her statement.

“I was going to purchase drugs,” Brown said.

Brown said she met Kline and agreed to split 10 portions of an unspecified narcotic. According to Brown, she would get eight, and Kline would get two. Brown said she withdrew $80 from an ATM and gave it to Kline for the deal.

Brown said the pair arrived at an auto body shop on West Jefferson Street. She said Kline entered the shop to get drugs from a man who was having his car worked on.

“She told me to wait in the alley,” Brown said. “I was getting nervous that I was getting ripped off.”

Brown said eventually both Kline and a man exited the building. She said the man gave her the drugs, and when she turned to leave, Kline asked for her share.

“She said ‘Give me my two bags,’” Brown said. “I said, ‘You were going to rip me off.’”

Brown said what happened next was a blur. She said a knife was held to her throat at first, and she grabbed at it, before the knife went downward.

“I felt warm on my stomach,” Brown said. “The knife was (sticking) in my stomach.”

Brown said Kline still wanted the drugs and asked for all 10 portions, then changed her mind.

“She didn’t want the ones with blood on (them,)” she said. “There was blood everywhere.”

According to testimony by Butler City officer Miles Bizub, Kline had dropped her purse during the altercation, and Brown picked it up and brought it with her as she walked about four blocks to her home.

“Ms. Brown had used that bag to keep pressure on that very serious wound,” Bizub said. “(When I arrived), she was in the dining room area of her residence with a large amount of blood on the floor.”

Brown was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital, where she said she stayed for three nights before being discharged. Brown said she received stitches in multiple places on her hands and her abdomen, totaling more than 50 across all the wounds.

She said she also needed surgery for internal bleeding, related to the 4-inch gash in her abdomen.

“She cut an artery, but they were able to fix that,” Brown said.

Kline turned herself in a day after the alleged attack, and police interviewed her at the Butler station.

"Kline did put herself in the location of that incident at that time,“ Bizub said.

Bizub said Kline also admitted to being part of the drug deal and that there was an altercation; however, Kline told him Brown attacked her with the knife.

“She denied using the knife,” Bizub said.

Bizub said police searched Kline’s home, where they found a cellphone covered in blood, blood-soaked first-aid bandages and a black sheath to a fixed-blade knife. Bizub said drug paraphernalia also was found.

Bizub said after Brown was released from the hospital, she met with police again and gave a revised statement.

Bizub said they were able to view security footage that shows the two together before the stabbing, and it shows Brown walking away injured from the scene. He said the alleged stabbing would have happened off-camera.

Bizub said despite the searches and video footage, the knife has yet to be found.

Public Defender Jennifer Popovich focused on a few key points during cross-examinations of both witnesses.

First, she confirmed Brown’s admission that she lied in her first statement to police, and that $80 was given to Kline, not stolen.

“Correct,” said Brown to a series of about five smaller questions leading to that conclusion.

During these admissions, police in the courtroom addressed a man sitting behind Assistant District Attorney Laura Pitchford.

At the time, the man was looking in the direction of Brown during her testimony. He was escorted from the courtroom and asked to exit the building for the remainder of the hearing.

Fullerton asked for the man to be identified for the record. Bizub said the man was Kline’s boyfriend, Justin Lewis. Fullerton asked if Lewis did anything to intimidate the witness.

“There were several remarks made,” Bizub said.

Following the hearing, it was unclear if Lewis would be charged.

In her cross-examination of Bizbub, Popovich asked if Brown would be charged for making false statements to police. By then, Brown had also admitted to being part of a drug deal too.

“There are no charges at this time,” Bizub said about Brown.

Popovich argued for the dismissal of both the robbery and attempted homicide charges.

Popovich said the robbery charge no longer fits because the $80 noted in the first statement was given, not stolen.

“Ms. Brown admits to that, and the officer admits to that,” she said.

Pitchford argued Kline tried to steal the drugs, which still fits the charge.

Popovich also argued the attempted homicide needed a “specific intent to kill” in order to fit the charge, especially since her client has accused Brown of the one attacking her. Pitchford said the extent of the injuries showed Kline’s intent.

“Putting a knife into the abdomen of someone and rupturing an artery is certainly a great way to kill someone,” Pitchford said.

Fullerton moved forward all charges to the Butler County Common Pleas Court, where Kline is expected to appear April 26 for formal arraignment.