Tributes paid to paramedic stabbed to death during ambulance ride to hospital

A woman has pleaded not guilty to the fatal stabbing of a paramedic inside an ambulance.

Shanetta Bossell, 39, entered the plea on Monday, following her arrest on Sunday. Court records indicate Bossell attempted to flee the scene in the ambulance after the stabbing, while others were providing aid to the wounded paramedic.

She is currently held on a $1 million bond, facing charges of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, assault, and resisting arrest. She has no listed legal representation.

The victim, 29-year-old Graham Hoffman, was a three-year veteran of the Kansas City Fire Department. He has been remembered for his dedication to his role as a paramedic.

“Our community grieves his loss at such a young age with his entire life ahead of him,” Clay County prosecuting attorney Zachary Thompson said at a news conference Sunday night.

Police spotted Bossell walking along the shoulder of a highway early Sunday, her finger cut and bleeding, according to the probable cause affidavit. She had been freed on bond just two days earlier in a resisting arrest case that Thompson said involved an assault on a law enforcement officer.

While en route to the hospital, the driver heard Hoffman frantically call for help, saying Bossell had a knife. The driver stopped and then rushed to the back. As he flung open the door, he heard Hoffman say, "She stabbed me in the heart,” the affidavit said.

An officer who was following the ambulance then witnessed Bossell get into the vehicle's cab and attempt to put it into drive, according to the affidavit. The officer ultimately was able to wrestle her to the ground. But during the fray, she bit his arm, and he hit her in the head with his firearm to get her to let go, the affidavit said.

A second ambulance arrived and the crew rushed Hoffman to the hospital, where he died later that afternoon.

Thompson said any conviction on the murder charge could draw a life sentence without possibility of parole — or even a death sentence. But he did not elaborate on prosecution plans and said police continue to investigate what he described as a “horrific” crime.”

“Let me be perfectly clear," he said. "Our office will use all legal, moral, and ethical tools at our disposal to ensure justice for Graham, his family and the entire community.”