A newlywed mom who was stabbed to death in a Home Depot parking lot in Arizona was able to name her killer with her dying words.
Aliccia Grant, 37, had married partner Stephen Dennis, 36, in July 2024, and a bright future looked on the cards for the happy couple.
Early in the morning of September 9, 2024, however, witnesses heard screams coming from a Home Depot parking lot. When they located the source of the screams they found Grant sitting in the driver’s seat of a red Prius having suffered multiple stab wounds.
According to AZ Family, witnesses attempted to provide aid until a responding officer took over. And it was to this officer that Grant used her final words to identify her killer: her husband, Stephen Dennis.
He was reportedly still at the scene of the crime when the first witnesses arrived, before fleeing. A short time later, he called 911 and admitted to stabbing Grant, informing them where the murder weapon could be found. Dennis also told authorities that he and his wife had been arguing about a marriage annulment when he stabbed her.
“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,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell shared in a press release.
In the same release, she said: “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.
“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.”
Earlier this week, August 18, Dennis was sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
In a GoFundMe set up to help with funeral costs and support Grant’s two children, aged 10 and 16, her family wrote: “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.
“She will be remembered as a loving daughter, sister, cousin, and friend, but most of all as a wonderful mom to her two beloved kids.”
Rest in peace, Aliccia Grant.
