HADDONFIELD, N.J. - The legal odyssey for an 18-year-old who fatally stabbed her father with a kitchen knife during an argument ended Wednesday when a grand jury decided not to indict her.

"Legally, it's a good day," said Jasmine Karo's lawyer, Robert DePersia. "Setting that aside, there are a lot of issues to deal with."

The teenager had broad support in the tight-knit Philadelphia suburb of Gloucester City, particularly among community members who said her father, Alan Karo, was abusive and an alcoholic.

After learning she would not face a murder trial, Karo told reporters she wants her experience to teach others "not to be ashamed if you're in an abusive family. Have faith in yourself and be strong."

She now lives with a mother who has struggled with alcohol and a 12-year-old sister who was there when her father was stabbed last month. Karo is still the main breadwinner for the family.

Faye Fulginiti, a counselor at Highland Park Alternative School, from which Karo graduated this week, said Karo had been abused for years.

"The abuse was probably worse than any of the other cases I had heard about," Fulginiti said.

Authorities said the argument at Karo's home on May 6 began after she took a telephone to her basement bedroom because she was expecting a call from her boyfriend. Her father, they said, had been drinking all day and showed his anger by throwing the phone at her.

The teen told prosecutors she later heard her father arguing with and pushing her mother, Margaret Smiley, who is Karo's girlfriend of 20 years.

The father ended up putting the daughter in a headlock. At some point, she reached for the knife and stabbed him in the shoulder.

When she returned home that night, police were there to arrest her on murder charges. The community quickly rallied around her.

Teachers raised money to buy her a bedroom set. On Monday, her school presented her an award for courage and tenacity, along with her diploma.

Several lawyers offered to handle the case pro bono. Camden County Prosecutor Vincent P. Sarubbi lowered bail voluntarily, and state Assemblyman Joseph Roberts posted the bond.

Sarubbi's top assistant also took the unusual step of asking Karo if she wanted to testify. She told reporters that she was asked about past confrontations with her father.

Within three hours, the grand jury decided not to indict.

Karo seemed more relieved than happy that she would not be facing a murder trial, though she said she was glad to tell her little sister, Priscilla, that she would not be going to prison.