BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — An Amherst man pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing his estranged girlfriend in May 2022, the Erie County District Attorney announced Monday.
55-year-old Kirk Bielanin admitted to stabbing 60-year-old Diane Bird at her home on Glen Oak Drive in Amherst sometime in the late evening of May 30, 2022 and the early-morning hours of May 31, 2022. Bielanin was living with a family member in Depew at the time of the crime.
Bielanin was found still at Bird’s home on the afternoon of May 31 when a co-worker of Bird went to check on her when she did not show up for work. Meanwhile, Bielanin was transported to ECMC to be treated for a stab wound to the chest and a cut to his wrist.
He pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree manslaughter. He faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 3, 2024.
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Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.