A New York woman has been convicted of throwing a lit stick of dynamite into her sleeping boyfriend’s bedroom after a domestic dispute – an attack so violent it cost him his hand and, ultimately, part of his arm.
Keyonna Waddell, 35, of Deer Park, Long Island, was found guilty by a jury in April 2026 on charges of first-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
She faces up to 25 years in prison when she is sentenced on May 27.
The attack happened in the early hours of March 22, 2024.
After a heated argument, the victim returned to his apartment, believing Waddell had left.
He went to sleep. She had not left.
While he slept, Waddell threw a lit explosive device believed to be a dynamite stick into his bedroom. He woke to a hissing sound and a flame on the floor. When he tried to pick it up and throw it out, it detonated in his hand.
The blast destroyed most of his hand instantly. Doctors later amputated what remained, along with part of his arm.
He ran from the apartment screaming for help and saw Waddell fleeing on foot.
She was arrested the following day, and her charges are first-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Investigators found she had threatened to use dynamite against him on multiple previous occasions, establishing a pattern prosecutors described as deliberate domestic violence that had been building toward catastrophe.
This was not a moment of madness. It was the end of a road that had been signposted for some time.
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