Maxim Kenneth Rhone acted strangely in the weeks leading up to her arrest for the murder of Gerald Montantes in the fall of 2016, prosecutors say.
The 26-year-old told police days earlier that she was God and that a man inside her St. Paul apartment was raping and stabbing babies. The incident prompted officers to take Rhone to Regions Hospital, where she was briefly admitted for psychiatric evaluation.
Then, just three days later, “annoyed, tired and impatient,” with Montantes’ attempt to retrieve a phone from inside Rhone’s apartment, Rhone pulled out a knife and plunged it 16 inches into Montantes’ side, according to opening statements Thursday by the prosecution in Rhone’s murder trial in Ramsey County District Court.
The 29-year-old collapsed on the grass outside the building and died shortly after.
Rhone faces two counts of second-degree murder in the 29-year-old’s Sept. 23, 2016 death.
“This is not a case of self-defense,” Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Ayodele Famodu said. Rather, Rhone stabbed Montantes because she was annoyed with him and didn’t like the relationship with a roommate, Famodu said.
Rhone’s attorney, Connie Iverson, said in her opening statement that the opposite was true.
She said her client, who is transgender and identifies as a woman, was fearful of Montantes that evening because he had been aggressive toward her in the past.
The two knew each other through Montantes’ girlfriend, who was Rhone’s roommate at the Grand Avenue apartment.
Rhone’s roommate had recently been kicked out of the apartment but still had belongings there. She and Montantes shared a child who also had been living with her and Rhone, according to authorities.
On the night of his death, Montantes was attempting to break into Rhone’s apartment to retrieve their belongings and “ransack” it when he unexpectedly encountered Rhone inside, Iverson said.
Montantes had assumed Rhone was still hospitalized, Iverson added.
An argument ensued between the two, and Rhone repeatedly ordered Montantes to leave, Iverson said, but Montantes refused.
Fearful of what the significantly bigger man might do to her, Rhone picked up a knife and stabbed him once, Iverson said.
“Ms. Rhone was fearful because she had been assaulted by him before,” Iverson said. “She needed to defend herself.”
When police responded to the scene, Rhone made no effort to deny what happened, Iverson said.
“She said ‘I stabbed him. There’s the knife,’ ” Iverson said, adding that Rhone continued to cooperate with police.
If the jury isn’t convinced that her actions were in self-defense and convicts her of murder, then Rhone’s attorney plans to argue that her conduct was due to mental illness.
Witnesses began giving testimony in the case late Thursday morning.