A Phoenix man, Stephen Dennis, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of his wife after he pled guilty to Second Degree Murder, a Class One Felony.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, in the early morning hours of September 9, 2024, Phoenix Police responded to a stabbing outside a Home Depot in north Phoenix. 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. Dennis, the victim’s husband, was in the front passenger seat.
Witnesses reported that Dennis exited the vehicle, argued with a bystander, then fled the scene on foot after grabbing a bag from the car. The witnesses rendered aid to the victim while first responders were enroute.
Phoenix Police officers were first to arrive. As one of the officers continued to apply pressure to the victim’s wounds, the victim made a dying declaration to him identifying Dennis as her attacker. She was then transported to a nearby hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Shortly after the incident, Dennis called 911 and admitted to stabbing his wife and told officers where to find the murder weapon which was ultimately recovered. Dennis told police the couple had recently married and were discussing an annulment at the time of the incident.
“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,” said County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “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.”
Why just 18 years? There is only one just punishment for the wanton cold-blooded murder of an innocent, and it’s not feeding, clothing, and sheltering the perpetrator for neigh on a decade and a half (with good behavior).