The trial to prosecute a Texas woman who allegedly stabbed her boyfriend to death with a stiletto heel last year began on Monday.

Ana Trujillo is charged with stabbing 59-year-old Alf Stefan Andersson in the face at least 25 times and beating him to death in his condominium last June.

During opening statements, prosecutor Sarah Mickelson said the two had a contentious relationship and that Trujillo had a history of being angry with Andersson. However, Trujillo's attorney, John Carroll, argued that the Houston woman killed Andersson in self-defense and that he was abusive in the past, reports AZ Central.

Police say the couple got into a fight at a nightclub on June 9, 2013 after another man offered to buy Trujillo a drink. The fight then lingered on at Andersson's apartment.

Police say that the 45-year-old mother of two called 911 around 4 a.m. and answered the door covered in blood. Officials found the University of Houston medical researcher in a hallway, laying next to Trujillo's stiletto. He appeared to have about 10 puncture wounds to the head, in addition to 15 to 20 wounds on his face, arms and neck, prosecutors say.

Prosecutors will argue that Trujillo tried to stop Andersson from breathing by "applying pressure to [his] neck," according to ABC News.

Trujillo's defense team said a fight broke out because Andersson did not want Trujillo to leave town to visit her daughter and, subsequently, end their tumultuous relationship.

"The man went crazy and said, 'you're not leaving,'" said Carroll, reports Chron.com. "He grabbed her and slammed her against the wall."

"There was a life and death struggle that night," Carroll said, adding "And she did what she had to do."

If found guilty, Trujillo could get a sentence that ranges from five years in jail to life in prison.