An Arizona man found guilty of murdering his newlywed wife in the parking lot of a Home Depot in 2024 has been sentenced, per a news release from Maricopa Attorney’s Office.
What sentence did Stephen Dennis receive?
Earlier this year, Stephen Dennis, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after he fatally stabbed his wife, 37-year-old mother of two Aliccia Grant. On Monday, Aug. 18, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the horrific act. “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,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a press release. “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.”
The murder occurred early on the morning of Sept. 9, 2024, in a parking lot of a Home Depot just outside of 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,” Mitchell explained. Dennis was seen by witnesses sitting in the front passenger seat before exiting the vehicle, arguing with another witness, and then fleeing the scene on foot after taking a bag from the vehicle.
“As one of the officers continued to apply pressure to the victim’s wounds, the victim made a dying declaration identifying Dennis as her attacker,” Mitchell said. Grant was rushed to a nearby hospital, but later died. Later that day, Dennis called 911 and admitted that he had stabbed his wife. He then directed officers to where they could find the murder weapon. During his interrogation, Dennis admitted to police officers that he and Grant had recently married. The violent episode apparently erupted following a conversation about having the union annulled.
What has the victim’s family said in response?
Grant was mother to a 16-year-old and a 10-year-old. On a GoFundMe established to cover funeral costs, Grant’s family remembered her as “as a loving daughter, sister, cousin, and friend, but most of all as a wonderful mom to her two beloved kids.” “Although Aliccia was taken from us far too soon, her endlessly hopeful energy left a permanent mark of inspiration on all of us who knew and loved her.”
