AMHERST – A local woman has been arrested after allegedly stabbing her live-in boyfriend Wednesday morning with a kitchen knife, according to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department.

Beverly Kessler, 47, has been charged with aggravated assault and is being held at Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth. The man, whose name is not being released, was stabbed in the lower left back with an 8-inch kitchen knife, according to police.

“It was a big steak knife,” Deputy Jeff McFarland said.

Deputy Chris Thornton said the incident occurred around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday. The man and Kessler were having an argument when the stabbing occurred, he said.

“She was taken into custody without incident,” Thornton said.

Because the case is under investigation, Thornton declined to release other details about the stabbing, other than to say the wound was considered serious and he was brought to the hospital by ambulance. The man was treated at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and then released, he said.

Kessler is being held at the jail on bail of $5,000 surety and $1,000 cash, Thornton said. Maine State Police assisted the sheriff’s department at the scene, he said.

btrotter@bangordailynews.net

460-6318