Maricopa County Sheriff's Office/GoFundMe
The fatal stabbing happened in a Home Depot parking lot, with the husband later admitting to the crime and what they were talking about at the time of the incident.
An Arizona man will do years behind bars, after his wife used her last breaths to identify him as her killer.
On Monday, Stephen Dennis, 38, was sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to the second degree murder of wife Aliccia Grant, 37, last year.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, police in Phoenix responded to a stabbing outside a Home Depot on September 9, 2024. "Witnesses walking nearby heard a woman screaming for help and discovered the victim in the driver's seat of a red Prius with multiple stab wounds," said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchel in a press release, adding that Dennis was in the front passenger seat at the time.
Per witnesses, he then "argued" with a bystander and "fled the scene on foot after grabbing a bag from the car." As first responders started to administer aid to Grant and applied pressure to her wounds, she "made a dying declaration to him identifying Dennis as her attacker."
She was then taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
According to MCAO, Dennis called 911 on himself shortly after the incident "and admitted to stabbing his wife and told officers where to find the murder weapon," which was recovered. He also told allegedly told authorities "the couple had recently married and were discussing an annulment at the time of the incident."
Grant left behind two children, who 12 News noted included, at the time of her death, a 15-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son.
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View StoryIn a GoFundMe set up by her family, they wrote that Grant's "endlessly hopeful energy left a permanent mark of inspiration on all of us who knew and loved her" -- adding that "She will be remembered as a loving daughter, sister, cousin, and friend, but most of all as a wonderful mom to her two beloved kids" and was "taken from us far too soon."
"Aliccia saw no dream as too big. She chased hers with open eyes and a full heart," they added. "She was a self-made entrepreneur, cosmetologist, author, and model. Her story is one of perseverance and the power of believing in yourself."
"This wasn't just a violent crime — it was an act of betrayal carried out by someone who should have been a source of safety, not fear," added County Attorney Rachel Mitchell in a statement. "There is something especially cruel about a murder that takes place within a relationship that’s intended to be built on trust. We will continue to aggressively pursue and hold violent domestic abusers accountable."
