Arizona Man Sentenced After Wife Named Him as Killer With Dying Words

An Arizona man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for fatally stabbing his wife, who used her final words to identify him as her attacker.

Stephen Dennis, 36, pleaded guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder in the death of his wife, 37-year-old Aliccia Grant, a mother of two. Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced the sentencing Monday, Aug. 18.

Grant was stabbed in the early hours of Sept. 9, 2024, in the parking lot of a Home Depot in north Phoenix. Witnesses reported hearing screams and found her in the driver’s seat of a red Prius with multiple stab wounds. Dennis, who had been in the passenger seat, fled the scene after grabbing a bag from the car.

Police officers and bystanders tried to save Grant. As one officer applied pressure to her wounds, she identified Dennis as her attacker before being taken to a hospital, where she later died.

Dennis later called 911, admitted to the stabbing and told officers where to find the weapon, prosecutors said. At the time of the attack, the couple had recently married but were discussing an annulment.

“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,” Mitchell said in a statement.