Exploring ‘Teen Stephen Jarrod Davis II Admits Stabbing 5-Year-Old Half-Sister To Death In Maryland’ A Maryland teen this week admitted that he killed his 5-year-old half-sister two years ago in a fit of rage, fatally stabbing the little girl in her bed and fleeing the home. Stephen Jarrod Davis II, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder in the death of young Anayah Jannah Abdul, authorities announced.
Teen Stephen Jarrod Davis II Admits Stabbing 5-Year-Old Half-Sister To Death In Maryland
According to a press release from the office of Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess, Davis is now seeking to prove that he was “not criminally responsible” (or “NCR”) for his actions at the time of the murder — which is essentially Maryland’s version of an insanity plea.
Leitess said in a statement on Thursday that Stephen Davis “has accepted his guilt in the murder of Anayah and has elected a trial on the issue of his criminal culpability for his acts.” The NCR trial is scheduled for April 10, 2023, and the defendant will have the burden of proving to a judge or jury that, at the time of the murder, he was mentally ill and lacked the capacity to understand his actions were unlawful or to change them to comply with the law.
On the morning of October 3, 2020, officers from the Anne Arundel County Police Department responded to a 911 call from a house in Pasadena’s 4100 block of Apple Leaf Court regarding a missing vehicle. The caller told the emergency dispatcher that no one in the family had permission to take the car — a black Dodge Charger — and said that Davis was also missing.
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Upon arriving at the scene, the mother told police that at approximately 3 a.m. she got a notification from her doorbell camera showing movement in the front of the house. She said she saw Davis get in the family minivan — which was parked in the driveway and blocking the garage — and move it into the street. A doorbell camera from a neighbor across the street next showed the family’s garage door opening and the black Dodge Charger exit, “quickly speeding away from the family home,” per the release.
The car was owned by the boyfriend of Davis’ mother. The family decided to call the police after finding “a concerning note” they believed had been written by Davis. According to a report from CBS News, the note read: “Honestly, I hate y’all so much I wanted to kill you all, but I believe one is enough to cause you enough damage.”
While police were on the scene speaking with Davis’ mother and her boyfriend, “another child in the house screamed that Davis had killed the little girl,” according to a report from the Capital Gazette.
Anayah was stabbed multiple times and pronounced dead on the scene.
Using data from Davis’ cell phone, investigators tracked the vehicle to a location on Interstate 70 in Ohio later that day. Prosecutors say Ohio State Troopers spotted the vehicle in Springfield, Ohio, and attempted a traffic stop, but Davis allegedly led them on a brief chase during which he reached speeds over 130 miles per hour. However, he eventually pulled over was taken into custody, and extradited back to Anne Arundel County to face murder charges.
Davis’ mother reportedly told police that although he “did not talk much,” he had “no known mental or physical health concerns,” and that violence was “out of character” for him. There were supposedly no fights the night before, according to both she and her partner.
According to reports, Davis’ Florida-based father informed authorities that his son had previously complained to him about sibling rivalry and feeling “unloved” by his family.
Maryland NCR trials typically last five days. According to court documents, public defenders Kimberlee Davis Watts, Ellen Goodman Duffy, and Elizabeth Connell are assisting Davis in the case.
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