Penn student charged with aggravated assault after allegedly stabbing former boyfriend

College sophomore Isabella Sobejano was charged with aggravated assault and a misdemeanor count of simple assault after allegedly stabbing her former boyfriend in June 2020.

Sobejano was accused of stabbing Samuel Parente in the neck after a dispute about her pregnancy at a boathouse in Harveys Lake, Pa., according to official documents from the Pennsylvania State Police. Sobejano denied that she attacked Parente, telling police she acted out of self-defense after he came at her with a knife.

Magisterial District Judge Brian James Tupper released Sobejano on a $50,000 unsecured bail on Tuesday. The preliminary hearing is set for April 15, according to Luzerne County's Central Court. 

Sobejano denied a request for comment. University spokesperson Stephen MacCarthy has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

"The leadership of Kappa Iota Chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority is aware of the allegations against member Isabella Sobejano and will be monitoring the legal process in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania," College junior Caroline Buchner, the president of Sobejano's sorority Sigma Kappa, wrote in an email to The Daily Pennsylvanian. 

Penn Pre-Medical Association released a statement Thursday that Sobejano is no longer associated or affiliated with the student club.

"It was recently brought to our Executive Board’s attention that there are current allegations against our former board member, Isabella Sobejano," PPMA's board wrote. "We will be monitoring this situation closely."

According to the affidavit, Sobejano told Parente she was pregnant about a week before the stabbing incident. He insisted that she make an appointment with a doctor and get an abortion, but Sobejano wanted to meet and talk about it in person, Parente told the police. The pair met at the boathouse to discuss the pregnancy on June 15.

Parente told police that Sobejano wanted to check his pulse because she was taking an emergency medical services class. She had him do jumping jacks and instructed him to lie face-down on the floor before stabbing him in the right side of the neck, the affidavit read.

During questioning, however, Sobejano said she acted out of self-defense after Parente came at her with a knife. The knife cut her hand, she said, when she tried to block it. The two continued to wrestle for the knife and fell to the floor during the struggle. Sobejano told police she then stabbed Parente after he punched her in the face.

According to the affidavit, investigators only found Parente's blood on the floor and did not find Sobejano's DNA in the area, despite Sobejano's claim that she cut her hand before stabbing Parente.

Editor's Note: This article was updated on April 1 at 1:18 p.m. to reflect Penn Pre-Medical Association's Thursday statement on the matter.