A Maryland man will serve the rest of his life in jail for stabbing a mother of three 20 times during a fight about stolen belongings, leaving her to bleed to death in a front yard for a neighbor to discover.
Deanthony Lamont Warrick, 35, was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Tuesday for the killing of Jasmine Lakesha Hicks, 29, according to a news release from the Charles County State’s Attorney’s Office. He was convicted in June of first-degree murder.
Tony Covington, the State’s Attorney for Charles County, praised the conclusion.
“The decision to seek a LWOP sentence — the most serious penalty in the State of Maryland — is mine and not made lightly,” stated the attorney. “I am pleased that the Court, after hearing all of the evidence at trial, as well as all of the testimony and arguments at sentence, saw this case in the same way that I did and ordered LWOP.
In my opinion, the brutal and callous manner in which he perpetrated this atrocity indicates that he should never be allowed to walk free in our town again. He purposely and permanently eliminated Jasmine Hicks from the globe, forever. Justice necessitates that he be held accountable. The jury held him accountable with their decision, and the Judge issued the appropriate and just sentence that we demanded.”
Hicks was slain on April 12, 2023. According to police, the stabbing occurred during an argument about items Warrick claimed were taken from him by someone else. During the altercation, Warrick started stabbing Hicks’ head, face, neck, shoulders, back, chest, abdomen, and arms. The massacre was captured on a neighboring surveillance footage.
According to prosecutors, audio recordings show him shouting, “Don’t make me kill you,” as he stabbed her.
Warrick then fled, leaving the terminally injured Hicks in the yard of the 2300 block of Woodberry Drive on Bryans Road, where she remained from midnight till 6:30 a.m., when a neighbor discovered her and phoned police, according to officials. The next day, police apprehended Warrick and said he confessed to the murder. An autopsy revealed that Hicks had 20 stab wounds.
At the sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Caspar stated to the Court, “If I have ever seen a case that warranted life without parole, this is it. The defendant left her in that yard, alone and in the dark, to bleed to death. And, as evidenced by the surveillance audio, her death was not mercifully quick. She suffered immensely before her death. “This was vile, malicious, and vengeful.”
Charles County Circuit Court Judge William R. Greer Jr. sentenced the defendant, stating, “This was a heartless death.” “Cold-blooded and vile.”
In her obituary, Hicks, a mother of three, was remembered with affection.
“The world has lost an incredible young lady who will be deeply missed by all who knew her,” according to the funeral announcement. “She will be remembered for her love of life and all the beautiful moments she shared with her family and friends who adored her.
We are extremely happy and lucky to have had her in our life, and we will cherish every sweet memory. May she rest in peace, knowing that she created a legacy that will live on in the hearts of those who loved her deeply.”