A Brentwood woman was sentenced to 23 months of house arrest today for the stabbing death of her live-in boyfriend.

Monique Bailey, 28, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in April for the stabbing death of Ralph Mark Woods during an argument. Common Pleas Judge Donald E. Machen went below the sentencing guidelines -- which recommended state prison time -- to give Ms. Bailey the house arrest and five additional years of probation.

At the sentencing hearing, a tearful Ms. Bailey testified that she stabbed Mr. Woods because "he was going to hurt me." They got into a physical altercation after a Super Bowl party Feb. 5, 2006, with Ms. Bailey's son in an adjoining room of the couple's Beechview home.

After her arrest, Ms. Bailey told detectives that Mr. Woods knocked her down twice and hit her in the face.

Ms. Bailey's attorney, Patrick Nightingale, said that since the stabbing Ms. Bailey has matured emotionally thanks to counseling at the Women's Shelter and Center of Greater Pittsburgh. She has been under house arrest since the stabbing.

Ms. Bailey, who has a 12-year-old daughter and whose son is now 6, is studying at Community College of Allegheny County to be a nurse's aide.

"They just really seem to be moving towards being a happy family under the circumstances," Mr. Nightingale said.