Man Sentenced to Eight Years for Stabbing Cousin to Death

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A DC Superior Court judge handed down an eight-year prison sentence for a 44-year-old man convicted of stabbing his cousin to death in an apartment complex near Rock Creek Park.

Jaamil Hipps was initially charged with second-degree murder while armed eight days after his cousin, 40-year-old Sa’id Grey, was found on the first floor of an apartment complex on the 1300 block of Missouri Avenue, NW, suffering from multiple stab wounds on Aug. 12, 2020. He pleaded down to voluntary manslaughter in August 2021.

Family members of the victim and defendant were virtually present for the Jan. 6 sentencing.

The prosecution said during the sentencing that if the case had gone to trial, it may have gone very differently. “This is a circumstantial case- the murder occurred off camera and there are no witnesses,” the prosecution said.

Parties agreed the homicide did not include any self-defense and was premeditated, meaning Hipps intended to kill his cousin.

“The government wants to make it clear- this was not a self-defense case,” the prosecutor said.

Defense attorney David Knight said Hipps is remorseful for his actions.

DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo agreed with the sentencing guidelines and sentenced Hipps to eight years in prison.