HARTFORD, Conn. -- A woman accused in the stabbing of a man in his genital area called the stabbing accidental.

Hartford police said Mayra Rodriquez, 39, was charged with assault in connection with the stabbing.

Gilberto Sanchez suffered stab wounds to his groin in the living room of his Wethersfield Avenue apartment on Wednesday.

Police said Rodriguez called police and said that Sanchez had fallen and stabbed himself with a knife.

Police said when officers arrived, they found Sanchez unconscious and bleeding significantly from his groin area.

Police said when Rodriguez was brought to the police station, she gave detectives a different story.

In the incident report she told officers that she and Sanchez had fought over a small knife and it broke, then she went for the second knife in the kitchen, and while they were fighting, he was accidentally stabbed.

Rodriguez's sister-in-law, Agnes Leon, told Eyewitness News that Rodriguez and Sanchez's relationship was abusive, and that Rodriguez acted in self-defense.

"She had no chance," Leon said. "She was afraid of getting stabbed again."

Sanchez remained hospitalized on Thursday.

Rodriquez's bond was set at $50,000.