California man who stabbed wife and 6-month-old son to death with butcher knife sentenced to life in prison
A man from Anaheim, California was sentenced to life in prison after he murdered his wife and their 6-month-old son in the family's home nearly four years ago, officials revealed on Friday.
The sentencing follows 27-year-old Kwame Adom Carpenter's conviction of two felony counts of murder, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office shared, according to KTLA.
Carpenter had stabbed his 24-year-old wife Moureen Gathua-Carpenter and their infant son Kyan Gathua-Carpenter with a butcher knife after the couple got into an explosive argument on June 22, 2015, the prosecutors shared.
The victim Moureen had confronted Carpenter after she discovered evidence of his infidelity and an on-going affair. She even tried to lock Carpenter out but he managed to break the door down and then chased her. As he brandished the knife, Moureen clutched their baby and begged him not to hurt her but he threw her to the floor, knocked her out and then stabbed her multiple times. As as a result, their son Kyan was also injured and died in hospital.
The mother and child were found with multiple stab wounds — Moureen was found dead at the scene while the baby died after it was taken to a local hospital.
According to the Orange County Register, Superior Court Judge Richard M. King said in court on Friday, "This was a horrific case. The image that is in everyone’s mind is the child crawling with a knife in his back."
Deputy District Attorney Steve McGreevy told the judge, "This case has put the victims’ family, and the defendant’s family, through significant heartache." \
During the trial, Carpenter’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Sara Nakada shared that Carpenter had killed his wife in a fit of passion and had accidentally killed his son.
After Carpenter committed the brutal attack he left from the scene in a relative's car and was arrested the following morning in Fountain Valley. He attempted to jump into a pond after a wild police chase.
According to the DA's office, Carpenter's conviction will include special circumstances that he committed multiple murders in addition to a sentence enhancement for using a deadly weapon. The jury deliberated for less than a day and found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder with enhancements for use of a deadly weapon and committing multiple deaths.
Carpenter will not be eligible for parole.