California Man Gets Life for 2001 Shooting That Killed Father and Toddler Visiting Grandparents
Stephen Murphy, 25, and his daughter Kali, 2.Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department“Stephen Murphy did what any father would do when he tried to shield his daughter from the gunshots,” the district attorney said of the victim
Jahon Terez Smith was convicted of two murders and three attempted murders tied to gang violence in Compton, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 13
DNA evidence linked Smith to the 2001 shootings after the case remained unsolved for more than two decades
Stephen Murphy was trying to protect his daughter Kali when gunfire erupted near her grandparents’ home
A California man was sentenced to life in prison in connection with the fatal shooting of a father and his 2-year-old daughter 25 years ago.
Jahon Terez Smith, 50, received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole on Tuesday, Oct. 13, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
The sentencing comes over two decades after the Aug. 8, 2001, killings of Stephen Murphy, 25, and his 2-year-old daughter, Kali.
On the day of the tragedy, Smith was driving on South Willowbrook Avenue looking for rival gang members when he and a person in the passenger seat began shooting from the car. Murphy, a Los Angeles International Airport employee, and Kali were struck by a single bullet fired by the individual in the passenger seat.
Kali died in her father’s arms as they tried to escape the gunfire, the D.A. said. The second shooter has never been identified or found.
Stephen Murphy, 25, and his daughter Kali, 2.Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
At the time of the incident, Murphy was buckling his daughter into his vehicle when he heard gunfire, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Hugo Reynaga previously said at a press conference.
“Stephen believed it was safer to get Kali into his grandmother’s house than outside, when rounds were firing,” Reynaga added. “Stephen snatched Kali out of the car seat and made a dash for his grandmother’s front door in order to protect Kali. But on that day, evil won.”
“This is what justice looks like when law enforcement — working with our prosecutors — are unrelenting in solving a decades-old, double murder,” Hochman said of the sentencing on Wednesday.
“Stephen Murphy did what any father would do when he tried to shield his daughter from the gunshots. For 25 years, the victims’ family has grieved the tremendous loss of their loved ones and waited for this moment to hear that the gunman will never terrorize another neighborhood again,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney continued.
Smith also attempted to kill three other people the same evening that Murphy and his daughter died, two of whom were shot but survived, the D.A. said.
DNA evidence was used to link Smith to the crimes. Prosecutors said the shootings were a result of gang violence, per the district attorney’s office.
In August, Smith was found guilty by a jury of two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. The panel also found a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders to be true.
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“I express my deepest sympathies to the Murphy family for the immeasurable pain they have endured through these long years,” former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a 2023 press release following Smith’s arrest.
“The resolution of this 22-year-old cold case underscores the significance of solving crimes that have remained unsolved for far too long,” Gascón added at the time. “Let this also be a reminder to all who believe they can evade the long arm of the law: no matter how much time passes, we will never stop pursuing justice on behalf of the victims and their families.”
Source: Crime