A 31-year-old woman is behind bars on charges she fatally stabbed her boyfriend early Sunday morning at their apartment on West Jefferson Street in Butler.

Shaina A. Grush was arraigned Monday on a general charge of homicide.

District Judge William Fullerton remanded her to the Butler County Prison without bail. Homicide is a nonbailable offense in Pennsylvania.

Butler police arrested Grush on Monday, accusing her of stabbing 43-year-old Robert Wagner in the chest with a kitchen knife. Police said another man was in the apartment, located above the China Palace restaurant, and witnessed the stabbing.

The 37-year-old man, a friend of Wagner's, recounted the couple was arguing when Grush pulled a knife with an eight-inch blade out of the kitchen drawer and then allegedly thrust it into the left side of Wagner's chest, according to police Detective Lt. Chad Rensel.

The victim grabbed his chest and collapsed onto the floor in front of the bathroom.

Grush allegedly yelled, “Oh my god, did I really do that?” according to the man's account, Rensel said.

The witness went on to tell investigators that Wagner then told the defendant, “Tell me you love me before I go.”

Grush called 911 at 2:05 a.m.

Police and emergency crews were dispatched to the apartment. Butler Fire Department and Butler Ambulance Service medics treated Wagner, who was still breathing when he was transported by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital, authorities said.

Wagner was pronounced dead about 2:40 a.m. in the hospital's emergency room. An autopsy conducted about 10:30 a.m. Sunday determined Wagner died of a stab wound to the chest, according to Butler County Deputy Coroner Larry Barr.

The wound was about six-and-a-half inches deep and one inch in width, investigators said. The knife penetrated Wagner's lung.

A manner of death was not determined immediately following the autopsy.

Police said when officers arrived at the apartment, they found Grush and her 11-year-old son. The man who was visiting the apartment was not there.

The defendant denied knowing how Wagner was stabbed. She claimed she was in the bathroom at the time. She also told police that she did not know the other man's last name.

A search of the apartment, however, turned up evidence consistent with the witness' account, Rensel said.

Police eventually tracked down and interviewed the other man. He told investigators he was at the apartment when Grush and Wagner went to a nearby convenience store and returned together.

Rensel said a review of street surveillance cameras showed the couple arriving at the store at 1:42 a.m. They are seen leaving the store and walking back toward their apartment at 1:55 a.m.

According to investigators, the man told police the couple started arguing after they returned to the apartment.

“Wagner told Grush he was tired of arguing, and was going to leave,” according to charging documents. He started packing beer into a back pack.

The witness further told authorities Grush threatened her boyfriend, allegedly telling him, “I will stab you in the face,” police said.

Wagner, according to the witness, allegedly asked Grush, “With what?”

The defendant allegedly opened a kitchen drawer and pulled out the knife. Police report the witness said Wagner was stabbed near the bathroom.

Rensel said a search warrant was obtained for the apartment. Police report finding blood on the hardwood floor in front of the bathroom. Officers also recovered the suspected knife, which was in the kitchen sink.

The knife had “fresh blood on the blade,” according to charging documents.

During the search, police also found a back pack with several cans of beer in it.

Police eventually listened to a recording of the 911 call that Grush made to report the stabbing.

Rensel said a man's voice, believed to be Wagner's, could be heard saying, “I love you.” The caller answered, “I love you too.”

Police said they believed Grush and Wagner had been a couple for several years. He was unemployed. She recently had been working at the Burger Hut in Butler.

Butler County Children & Youth Services took custody of the defendant's son. Rensel said authorities were trying to contact the boy's father, who lives in Franklin, Venango County, in the hope of reuniting them.

Grush's preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 24.

Rensel said the police investigation is ongoing.