Gang Member Sentenced to Life Without Parole for 2001 Compton Slaying of Father and 2-Year-Old Daughter
A gang member convicted in the 2001 Compton shooting deaths of a father and his 2-year-old daughter has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced on October 14, closing a case that went unsolved for 25 years. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kelvin D. Filer imposed the sentence on October 13.
On August 14, a jury found Jahon Terez Smith, 50, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the August 8, 2001, killings of Stephen Murphy, 25, and his daughter Kali Murphy, 2, along with three counts of attempted murder. Jurors also found true the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders and allegations that Smith personally discharged a firearm during the attempted murders.
Prosecutors said that shortly after a gang member was killed, Smith drove with an unidentified accomplice into rival gang territory, with each opening fire at points. Murphy and his daughter were visiting his grandmother in the 13100 block of Willowbrook Avenue in Compton, and Murphy was about to put Kali in the back seat of his car when the gunfire erupted. He grabbed his daughter and ran for the house, but both were shot and killed. Prosecutors said the two were innocent bystanders with no gang affiliation. In shootings before and after the murders, Smith shot two people in the head, permanently scarring them, and tried to kill another man whose car door stopped the bullet, according to the prosecution.
Smith was arrested on October 30, 2023, by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The first jury to hear the case deadlocked 11-1 in October 2025, with the majority favoring guilt, and a second jury convicted him.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：康普顿高等法院（Compton Superior Court）。Jengod／Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0
