The woman who was nearly stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend in the parking lot of their college campus is speaking out for the first time, describing exclusively to NewsChannel 13 what happened to her.

Zymeir Walton, 22, pleaded guilty to the charges in the middle of his trial in Rensselaer County Court, before she got to testify. However, he still claims through an attorney that the guilty plea does not tell the whole story of what happened that day, a claim the survivor of the attack said has invalidated what she is still going through.

Samaria Glasser was back in school and recovering more than a year later when she spoke to NewsChannel 13. She said she wanted to identify herself and tell her story, as she was left not only fighting for her body back, but defending her character.

“I’ve been silenced so many times, and in the past I didn’t want to make it seem like I’m doing this for attention, but my character has been slandered,” Glasser said.

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

It was November 3, 2022, when Glasser said she was trying to end her five-month relationship with ex-boyfriend Zymeir Walton – a relationship she said was emotionally and physically abusive.

“Because I didn’t want to be with him, he just determined that my life was not worth living. I didn’t have a family, my family didn’t matter. Because if he couldn’t have me, I shouldn’t be alive,” she said.

Glasser said Walton waited for her by her car in the parking lot of Hudson Valley Community College, where the two were students. She remembered him getting in, then stabbing her and seeing her own blood as she fought to get out of the car. She remembered getting away, as court documents said he drove off in her car.   

More than a year later, she said, “I’m still a work in progress. I’m going to the gym, I’m trying to get movement of my arm and hand back, because I have no functional use of it.”

She told NewsChannel 13 the stabbing severed a coronary artery, and doctors used a vein from her thigh to repair it. Glasser said her lungs collapsed multiple times.

“I have stab wounds here, and then as you can see I had open-heart surgery as well, but within the open-heart surgery line are stab wounds that they had to cut through in order to get to my heart,” she said, showing the visible scars on her chest.

After surgery, she had a stroke, losing movement of the left side of her body. Her mother recalled coming close to losing her daughter as doctors at Albany Medical Center worked on her.

“I sat there in that chair waiting for my daughter, waiting for them to tell me, and I’m thinking, ‘OK, what happens if they come out here, and they say she didn’t make it,’” Kennedo-Rivera said.

Glasser and her family said they feel she’s been victimized all over again, as Walton’s attorney claimed the stabbing was in self-defense and that she showed up that day to hurt him. She never got to share her side in court before Walton pled guilty to the original six-count indictment during trial.

“You’re destroying my character on top of destroying me physically, like c’mon. How much can one person take?” Glasser said.

The case is stalled, with sentencing postponed indefinitely after Judge Debra Young recused herself. That part of the story will air Wednesday on NewsChannel 13.

NewsChannel 13 has been in touch with Walton’s attorney, Jasper Mills, since the interview with Glasser was conducted. Mills’ perspective on his client’s case will air Wednesday on NewsChannel 13.

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.