Whose house is this?
>> It's my house.
>> Judge Judy: Is it a leased
house or an owned house?
>> Leased.
>> Judge Judy: And the lease is
in whose name?
>> My name.
>> Judge Judy: How long have you
lived there?
>> Two years.
>> Judge Judy: When
did you move in?
>> I have been there,
well, two years.
>> Judge Judy: Are you
still there?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: Well, it's got to
be more than two years, because
this incident happened in May --
>> Well, it was more than
two years.
About three.
>> Judge Judy: How long had you
been living there on the day of
the incident?
>> About three years.
>> Judge Judy: No.
Then you would have been living
there five years altogether.
On May 16, 2015,
how long had you been living in
that house, and with whom?
>> My sister.
>> Judge Judy: Which sister?
>> Maleah Denson.
>> Judge Judy: That
would be you?
>> Me.
>> Maleah Denson.
>> Judge Judy: So just the two
of you were living there
together?
Is that what I'm listening to?
>> Mm-hmm. Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: Is that true?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
So, you had been living there
with one other sister, and your
mother gave this sister
a key to the house.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: And this sister
didn't live there.
>> No.
>> Judge Judy: She lived
someplace else with her
girlfriend.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
You call your mother, and you
say, "Tell Sister to give me
back my key."
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: Sister won't give
you back your key.
I want you to go step by step
what happened next.
>> And then Kayesha Hedgeman
said, "I'm not gonna give you
nothing."
>> Judge Judy: Well, she didn't
have the key.
>> "She's not gonna give you
nothing."
She butted into our conversation
that had nothing to do with her.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
So you were talking to your
sister.
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: And the plaintiff
said, "I'm not gonna give you
nothing."
>> Yeah. "She's not gonna
give you nothing."
And, you know, I'm --
>> Judge Judy: Now, slowly.
Let's get it very slowly,
'cause I'm gonna get it from her
perspective, too.
>> Okay.
>> Judge Judy: So, "I'm not
gonna give you nothing,"
and then what happened?
>> And then we got into
an altercation.
>> Judge Judy: Now, when you get
into an altercation -- an
altercation is a fight.
That's what an altercation is.
It can be either a verbal
altercation, which is --
>> Verbal altercation.
>> Judge Judy: Verbal
altercation -- calling each
other names, or it can be a
physical altercation.
This was which one?
Was it a verbal altercation
or was it a physical
altercation?
>> It started as a verbal.
>> Judge Judy: Started
as a verbal.
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: It went from
verbal to physical.
How did that happen?
>> Miss Hedgeman pulled out a
knife from her bosom.
>> Judge Judy: What
kind of knife?
>> It was like one you can...
>> Judge Judy: Open up?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: How big?
I want you to point with --
>> About like that.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
Well, you keep moving your hand.
Let's do it again.
So it was a relatively big knife
when it was opened.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: And that's the
size when it was open?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: So she pulled it
out and...?
>> And she said, "I'm not gonna
fight you.
I got something to hold
your big 'A.'"
And she said, "I been
wanting to fight you."
And I said, "Why you want to
fight me?"
>> Judge Judy: And?
>> And then she hit me in my
face, and we got the...
>> Judge Judy: So, the next
thing that happened was she
hit you in the face?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: And then what
happened next?
>> Then she hit me in my face,
and then she kept trying to
charge at me with the knife.
>> Judge Judy: Well, what did
you do to her when she hit you
in the face?
That's when we got to fighting
and [bleep]
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
Well, you left that out.
Let's not leave it out.
She hit you in the face, and
then you got to fighting.
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: So you hit her?
>> I didn't get a chance
to hit her.
>> Judge Judy: Well, what does
this mean?
>> [ Laughs ]
>> Judge Judy: Do you understand
what I'm saying to you?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
Somebody hits you in the face.
I cannot imagine --
>> Because at the time she still
had the knife in her hands,
trying to charge at me.
And the reason
my hand got cut --
>> Judge Judy: I want you to
tell me -- you mean she held the
knife in her hand, right or
left, and with the other hand
hit you in the face?
If she has a knife in her
hand -- what hand did she
have the knife in?
>> She had the --
In her right hand.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
And are you right-handed?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
So she's right-handed.
She has a knife in one hand.
And so I want you to tell me --
>> It happened so fast,
Your Honor.
>> Judge Judy: That's
why we're here.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: She has the knife
in her right hand.
She pulled it out of her breast.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: How
did she punch you?
>> With her left hand.
>> Judge Judy: Where did she
punch you with her left hand?
On your face?
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: And then what did
you do?
>> Then -- psh...
>> Judge Judy: What did you do?
>> I started backing up.
'Cause by that time she had a
knife, and I was feared for my
life 'cause she is known with
stabbing people.
>> Judge Judy: Go ahead.
Tell me what happened next.
>> Then, after we got to
fighting, I seen Miss Hedgeman
cutting herself, and --
>> Judge Judy: [ Shushing ]
Let's go slowly,
and don't lose your words.
So, now you start to
physically fight.
But so far you haven't told me
that you touched her at all.
>> No, I didn't.
>> Judge Judy: Right.
So she's fighting with you
and you're just backing up.
>> Because I'm not a fighter.
>> Judge Judy: And then what
happened?
>> Then, after that, I looked
over and seen Miss Hedgeman
cutting herself.
>> Judge Judy: Where did she
cut herself?
>> Her neck.
>> Judge Judy: Oh, so she took
the knife, and she stabbed
herself in the neck
with the knife?
>> Yes. Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Interesting.
>> No, Your Honor,
she was like this.
She was doing like this.
>> Judge Judy: Oh, she was
going like this, cutting
across her neck.
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: And
how many times did she cut
across her neck?
> I have no idea.
>> Judge Judy: More than once?
>> Proba-- I seen her, like,
one -- I guess she got a scar
around her neck right there.