A Long Island woman faces up to 25 years in prison after being convicted of throwing a homemade explosive device at her sleeping boyfriend, resulting in the amputation of his hand and part of his arm when he tried to throw the bomb to safety.
Deadly Escalation of Domestic Violence
Keyonna Waddell, 35, was found guilty Friday on assault and multiple criminal weapons possession charges stemming from a March 2024 incident at her boyfriend’s apartment. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney described the case as a sobering reminder that domestic violence can escalate to deadly levels. Waddell had repeatedly threatened to use dynamite against her boyfriend in the months before the attack, but he never believed she would follow through on those warnings.
Long Island woman throws dynamite at sleeping boyfriend – and his hand is blown off trying to save himself https://t.co/2TXimaPcfz pic.twitter.com/ezG5IOyWuF
— New York Post (@nypost) April 26, 2026
Attack Left Victim Permanently Maimed
The couple argued on March 22, 2024, and both left the apartment. The victim later returned and went to sleep, unaware of what awaited him. Waddell threw the explosive device into his bedroom while he slept. The man woke to a hissing sound and spotted a flame on the floor that he could not extinguish. As the fuse burned down, he desperately tried to pick up the device and throw it outside. The makeshift bomb exploded in his hand, destroying most of it instantly.
The victim stumbled into the driveway screaming for help and saw Waddell fleeing the scene. Police rushed him to Nassau University Medical Center, where surgeons were forced to amputate the remainder of his hand and part of his arm. Investigators arrested Waddell just one day after the attack. She now awaits sentencing on May 27, facing a maximum sentence of 25 years behind bars for the brutal assault that permanently disabled her former boyfriend.
Pattern of Threats Before Violence
District Attorney Tierney emphasized that Waddell had made multiple threats to use explosives against her boyfriend in the months leading up to the attack. The case highlights how domestic violence threats should never be dismissed, even when they seem unlikely to be carried out. The victim’s failure to report these threats to authorities nearly cost him his life and resulted in permanent physical disability that will affect him for the rest of his life.