The friends of a woman suspected of murdering a man in Oildale on Monday say that she was only acting in self defense.

Abrianna Ringgold was booked for first-degree murder after Kern County deputies found her hiding in a neighbor's yard, close to where the victim was found "bleeding profusely" in the roadway from multiple stab wounds.

The coroner's office has not identified the victim, but close friends of Ringgold's say that the victim was her uncle; they also say that he abused Ringgold, her grandmother and her brother.

"She was with us every single day because she was scared to be home around that man," said Shalah Taber, who considered Ringgold to be a sister.

She says that Ringgold suffered through physical and verbal abuse, but did not want to leave and abandon her grandmother and brother.

Friends also believe that the victim had cornered Ringgold and that she stabbed him as a form of defense.

She's currently being held without bail and will be in court tomorrow at 3 p.m.

Taber and her family say that they're planning to be there.