Authorities in Philadelphia on Wednesday arrested a 39-year-old woman in connection with a fatal stabbing incident that happened at a Lincoln University dorm on February 16.
According to Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office said the brother of the suspect is a student at Lincoln, and he had gotten into a fight on the day of the deadly incident. The suspect, identified as Nydira Smith, later drove to the school with a knife to allegedly join the fight.
Footage of the bloody fight in the dorm was captured on camera. Smith allegedly stabbed three students, resulting in one casualty. The deceased student, identified as 21-year-old Jawine Evans, was pronounced dead at the scene after sustaining a stab wound to the neck. The two other students sustained injuries.
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The Chester County District Attorney’s Office said they believe Smith’s actions were premeditated, 6 ABC reported. “She took an hour and a half to drive from her home in West Mount Airy out to Lincoln University with a knife to join in a fight with the intent to kill,” Chester County District Attorney, Deb Ryan, said.
Evans was a well-known senior who made a name for himself as a skilled basketball player. “He was a senior about to graduate,” Isaiah Williams, a freshman, told CBS Philly. “He was almost out of here.”
Prior to the fatal incident, officials said Smith got in touch with the school to express concerns about her brother after his roommate allegedly got involved in a theft incident. The roommate in question was said to have supposedly stolen some items from other students.
Smith drove to the school that night. Police said she was allowed to enter the campus because she had a relative enrolled at the university. Smith had also told the front gate she was there to pick her brother up, Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Footage of the incident shows Smith involved in a fight with other students in the dorm. One person is later heard saying, “She stabbed me.”
In the aftermath of the incident, officials managed to locate Smith’s residence and obtained a warrant to search her home. Officials said they found blood in her car and residence. “Detectives recovered a set of knives from the defendant’s home where one knife was missing,” Chester County DA Deb Ryan said, per CBS Philly.
Officials also found paperwork showing she had visited a hospital to seek medical care for a laceration.
“We thought he would be safe on the campus of Lincoln University, and we’re stunned at the lax university security,” Evans’ mother said in a statement released by the family’s lawyers. Despite that allegation, Lincoln’s campus police chief Marc R. Partee said Smith’s actions constituted a breach of trust.
“What we will do is a comprehensive review of the whole incident to see if there’s anything we can do in terms of best practices across the field,” Partee said.
Smith faces a slew of charges including murder of the 1st degree, murder of the 3rd degree, possessing an instrument of crime, and aggravated assault. She has also been denied bail.
