Daughter, 29, of former National Intelligence Director under Bush is found guilty of murder
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The daughter of a former US ambassador to the UN has been found guilty of the stabbing death of a Maryland man after an argument at an Airbnb.
A Montgomery County jury on Tuesday convicted Sophia Negroponte, 29, of second-degree murder in the February 2020 death of Yousuf Rasmussen, news outlets reported.
Negroponte faces up to 40 years in prison at the March 31 sentencing.
She is the daughter of John Negroponte, who was the US ambassador to the UN under George W. Bush from September 2001 to June 2004.
A Montgomery County jury on Tuesday convicted 29-year-old Sophia Negroponte (pictured left) of second-degree murder in the February 2020 death of Yousuf Rasmussen (pictured right), they reported. the media.
Sophia Negroponte and Rasmussen attended the same Washington high school and had been drinking, along with another person, the night Rasmussen was killed, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said.
They argued twice that night and Rasmussen left. When Rasmussen returned to get his cell phone, Negroponte “stabbed him multiple times, one of which was a fatal blow that severed his jugular,” McCarthy said.
Defense attorney David Moyse had urged the jury to consider that Sophia Negroponte was so drunk that night that she was unable to form specific intentions.
Alcohol permeates this case from the start; it pervades her life,’ he said, adding, ‘and is absolutely at the heart of what happened there that night. And it’s one of the main reasons why this isn’t murder at all.
Jurors found Negroponte guilty of the most serious charge he faced, first-degree premeditated murder, according to the post.
Sophia Negroponte and Rasmussen attended the same Washington high school and had been drinking, along with another person, the night Rasmussen was killed, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said.
Police say Sophia Negroponte stabbed Rasmussen after an argument in February 2020
Sophia Negroponte is the adoptive daughter of John Negroponte, former US ambassador to the UN. John Negroponte is seen above in Bogotá, Colombia, in May 2019
But they convicted her of second-degree murder, finding that she had intended to “inflict such serious bodily harm” on Rasmussen “that death would likely result.”
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence J. McGann ordered his bond revoked, noting that Rasmussen was “ripped off this earth, at a very young age with his whole life ahead of him, in such a way horrible’.
“Yousuf was a kind and gentle soul, a loving person who brought our family and his many friends great joy in his 24 years of life,” Rasmussen’s family said in a statement. We will carry it with us forever.
After the verdict, John Negroponte, 83, said his family will discuss a possible appeal with his lawyers.
Neither the prosecutors nor perhaps the jury gave sufficient consideration to the complexities and extenuating circumstances of the case: Sophia’s past trauma and other factors that led to a very troubled existence. She has had severe alcohol use disorder,” John Negroponte said.
President Bush, left, watches as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, ceremonially swears in Assistant Secretary of State John Negroponte, second left, at the State Department in Washington in 2007
After the verdict, John Negroponte said his family will discuss a possible appeal with his lawyers.
President George W. Bush named John Negroponte the nation’s first director of intelligence in 2005. He later served as assistant secretary of state. He also previously served as ambassador to Honduras, Mexico, the Philippines, the United Nations, and Iraq.
He had previously served as ambassador to countries including Honduras, Mexico, and the Philippines under Bill Clinton, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan.
Negroponte and his wife, Diana Negroponte, adopted five girls during their stay in Honduras: Sophia, George, John, Alexandra, and Marina.