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Teacher, a former roller-derby star, and her toddler daughter are stabbed

Danecia Berrian, a former Liberty Belles star called “Nina Knockout,” and her 21-month-old daughter were critically hurt. Her husband was arrested in Md.

Danecia Berrian, in her roller derby gear, is a 4th-grade teacher. STEVEN M. FALK / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Danecia Berrian, in her roller derby gear, is a 4th-grade teacher. STEVEN M. FALK / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERRead more

DONLETTA BOLDS had heard her next-door neighbors quarreling before. It wasn't a smooth relationship. But the ruckus that awakened Bolds after midnight yesterday morning sounded different from past fights - much more serious.

"It didn't sound like it usually sounds. She was telling him to stop," Bolds said from her front stoop yesterday afternoon. "One scream woke me up."

What Bolds heard was Stephen Burton allegedly rampaging through the West Oak Lane rowhouse with a knife, repeatedly slashing his wife, Danecia Berrian, a Philadelphia elementary-school teacher and a former standout Liberty Belles roller-derby skater known as "Nina Knockout."

Burton also is accused of stabbing their 21-month-old daughter, Desiree.

Berrian, 37, was stabbed "all over her body," and Desiree was stabbed once in the chest, police said. The mother was taken to Einstein Medical Center, her daughter to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children; both were listed in critical condition last night.

Daily News fitness columnist Kimberly Garrison wrote in 2008 that Berrian had come to her for workout tips. She described the soft-spoken North Philadelphia native as a "compassionate" and "demure" teacher by day, but a "rough-and-tumble roller-derby diva by night."

"I can take all of my aggression out on the floor. I can hit a girl going at the top speed with my body, put her on her ass or send her flying into the crowd and not have to apologize . . . because we're playing a sport. That to me is the best thing about roller derby," said Berrian, who was one of only two African-American women skating in the Philly-area league.

Yesterday, Bolds said that Berrian's screams had compelled her to go next door, to Dallas and Georgian roads, around 12:30 a.m. There, she said, she watched through the window as Burton allegedly attacked Berrian. She pounded on the door, then called police as Burton ran out of the house and sped off in his car.

Bolds returned to the house to help Berrian.

"I asked if everything was OK," Bolds said.

It wasn't. Her arm was badly mangled. The place looked like the set of a horror movie.

"When she opened the door, it was probably her last bit of energy," Bolds said. "There was blood everywhere."

Around 8:45 p.m. yesterday, Burton, 41, was taken into custody in Maryland without incident, Philadelphia Police said.

"She's a good mom and neighbor. A nice person. She's just in a bad relationship," Bolds said of Berrian. And Burton "had a bad attitude," she said.

In roller derby, a sport heavy with monikers, Berrian was "Nina Knockout," a blocker who could throw punishing checks.

Berrian played for the Broad Street Butchers.

"It's all-female power, moving at speeds of 20 to 30 mph on skates," she told Garrison in 2008. "You can be 100 pounds or 250 pounds, but if you have the agility and skill, you can do this, too."

Berrian worked out in the gym besides team practices three to four nights a week, Garrison wrote. "It's hard work, and I don't think people realize what it really takes to do this sport - the practice, time and the effort," Berrian told Garrison.

"It's a full-contact sport," Nicole Williams, a jammer for the Gotham Girls, a New York City roller-derby team, told the Daily News yesterday. "You have to be strong and fierce."

Around 2008, in the early days of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association of roller-derby leagues, Berrian and Williams toured several cities to promote the sport, Williams said. Berrian was known as one of Philly's best roller-derby athletes, she said.

But Nina Knockout retired from the women-only sport after having her first child, a boy who's now 4 years old, Williams said. He was not hurt in the early morning attack.

"She was just a fearless leader, very dedicated to what she was working on," Williams said. "She was a pleasure to work with."

Berrian graduated from Temple University in 2011. She's a fourth-grade teacher at Jay Cooke Elementary School in the city's Logan section.

"We're sending our thoughts and prayers to Danecia and her daughter, to her family members and loved ones," said Philadelphia Federation of Teachers spokesman George Jackson.

Elaine Kilmartin, also known as Persephone on the track, released a statement praising Berrian on behalf of the city's four-team league.

"Philly Roller Derby wishes to respect Danecia's privacy and that of her family during this unimaginably difficult and confusing time," Kilmartin said. "We will not hesitate to communicate, however, that Danecia is an intelligent, caring, loving, multifaceted, hard-working, and beautiful league-mate, teammate, and friend. We love her dearly. We are heartsick. Our thoughts and healing wishes go out to her and her family."

Kristen Herrman, vice president of Philly Roller Derby, said Berrian served on the WFTDA's board of directors for years.

"Anyone in the worldwide derby community who knows about derby or its history knows the name 'Nina Knockout.' And they should," Herrman said in a statement last night. "She helped to make this sport and organization what it is."

Bolds, who may have helped save Berrian's life, said she hopes the mother and daughter make it back to their quiet nook of West Oak Lane.

"I just hope everybody heals well and pulls through," Bolds said, holding back tears. "I pray to God to take all this out of her life. She doesn't need that."

- Staff writer Regina Medina

contributed to this report.