The survivor of an attack by her ex-boyfriend at Hudson Valley Community College, Samaria Glasser, said she was tired of sitting behind the scenes. Her ex-boyfriend Zymeir Walton’s case was stalled a month after he pled guilty during trial to charges including attempted murder and assault – with Walton’s attorney saying the guilty plea did not tell the whole story.

The stabbing happened on November 3, 2022. Nearly a year and a half later, Glasser identified herself to NewsChannel 13, saying she felt she hadn’t been taken seriously because she survived.

“I wanted to ask [Zymeir] what his plan was. Because there’s been multiple stories, and he keeps switching his story in court,” Glasser said. “It goes from self-defense, which I’ve never been physically violent with a weapon to Zymeir, as he was to me. To, you know, I stabbed myself, and how would I do this to myself? I just wanted to break up with you.”

She and her mother, Jennifer Kennedo-Rivera, spoke to NewsChannel 13 at their home in Albany County.

“I’m getting dragged by everybody, and I don’t get a break, and it’s not fair… and get called a pretender for stuff that I couldn’t make up if I wanted to,” she said.

She said Walton waited by her car at Hudson Valley and stabbed her as she was trying to end what she called an abusive relationship.

“Torturous, for me to see this flower that I’ve grown, and it was blooming, it was radiant, and then it was almost snuffed out,” said Kennedo-Rivera.

The 20-year-old student and her family were frustrated, saying they felt like she was portrayed as a liar during Walton’s defense at trial. His attorney has claimed Glasser was the perpetrator that day.

“If my daughter had been guilty of anything that he accused her of, then she would have had to stand up the moment she could stand and say, ‘I did do this.’ Because that’s the kind of kids I’m raising,” she said.  

Glasser never got to testify before the guilty plea.

“That kind of haunts me to this day because I never got the chance to ask him face to face and look him in the eye, and ask him what the point was, and why would you do this to me when I would never do this to you,” Glasser said.

She is back in school in a neighboring state, planning to become a physical therapist to help others dealing with physical challenges.

Her mother spoke of the financial toll of medical bills and continued care, plus the emotional toll and lack of assistance in navigating this tragedy. Her family has set up a GoFundMe. Kennedo-Rivera said she was still reeling that this happened under her careful watch.  

“I tried to do it the right way, and then I get this, something I can’t physically myself fix. It’s life changing, devastating,” she said.

Sentencing was postponed with no future date set.  

“How is my child going to get justice? How do we move forward from here,” asked Kennedo-Rivera.

“I just want to hope that I do get my chance in the courtroom and I do get to see him face-to-face and read my victim impact statement and get to ask him, like, what were you going to do had you succeeded in murdering me?” Glasser said.

NewsChannel 13 contacted Walton’s defense attorney for comment about the interview and the guilty plea. Attorney Jasper Mills told NewsChannel 13 it was not the whole story.

Mills spoke to NewsChannel 13, joined by Walton’s mother and grandmother. Mills said Walton may have pled guilty to the six-count indictment, but that he did not accept the version of events detailed in the indictment.

He asked NewsChannel 13 to share that the relationship was “toxic” both ways. He said because his client pled guilty, the public did not see the full picture of what happened in this case.

“You had police officers that testified that he had defensive wounds on his hands, and testified what defensive wounds were. We had DNA evidence that had yet to come in that showed that her DNA was on the handle of the knife,” Mills said.

Asked why, then, Walton pled guilty, Mills said, “I don’t make decisions for my clients, and at that point Zymeir made a risk versus reward decision.”  

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, help is available. The domestic violence hotline is 800-799-7233 – it can connect you with local resources.