Two Ohio teenage girls fought in March 2023. One died. The other is now on trial for murder.

Was a fight between two teenage girls that turned deadly deliberate or an act of self-defense?

That's the question a Franklin County jury will have to decide as Bryanna Barozzini, now 20, goes on trial this week.

Barozzini is charged with two counts of murder and one count of voluntary manslaughter in the March 26, 2023, fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Halia Culbertson.

Barozzini was 18 at the time of the assault and has been free since posting $750,000 bail shortly after her March 2023 arrest.

Jury selection in the case is expected to begin Monday morning.

How did Halia Culbertson die?

On March 26, 2023, at approximately 11:45 p.m., Columbus Police received a call about a person stabbed outside a convenience store in the 5600 block of Emporium Square in the Northland neighborhood.

Officers found Culbertson with a single stab wound. She died shortly afterwards at a nearby hospital.

Witnesses told detectives that an argument inside the store escalated into a fight in the parking lot. Witnesses also identified Barozzini as the person who stabbed Culbertson. Barozzini was not at the scene when police arrived.

Barozzini told detectives in a later interview that she had a knife and had brandished it during the fight.

What is Bryanna Barozzini accused of?

Barozzini faces three charges:

• One count of murder, accusing Barozzini of deliberately killing Culbertson

• One count of murder, accusing Barozzini of killing Culbertson while committing felonious assault

• One count of voluntary manslaughter, accusing Barozzini of killing Culbertson “under the influence of sudden passion or sudden fit of rage”

If convicted on all counts, Barozzini faces life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years.

According to Byanna Barozzini, what happened?

Barozzini plans to argue at her trial that she stabbed Culbertson in self-defense.

If a defendant claims that an assault or homicide was an act of self-defense, Ohio law requires prosecutors to prove that the action was not an act of self-defense. Before the law changed in 2019, defendants were required to prove to a jury that it was self-defense.

According to a motion filed by Barozzini's attorney on May 29, prosecutors are seeking to introduce evidence of text messages sent by Barozzini to another person. Barozzini's lawyer is asking Judge Mark Serrott to prevent the messages from being introduced because they were sent a week before the stabbing.

The text messages include statements such as “I would rather slit (Culbertson's) throat if she comes near me again” and “I will cut this (expletive) out of my entire family if she tries to show up at my house again family.”

How the two girls knew each other and the nature of their past interactions have not been made public.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Woman who fatally stabbed Ohio teen during fight claiming self-defense.