Nearly two years after Amber Lynette Kent was fatally stabbed by her best friend Cydrisse Alvin, family members and loved ones are still asking themselves, “Why?”
Alvin, 33, was sentenced Wednesday, to 35 years in prison for first-degree murder while armed in connection to the stabbing death of Kent in June 2012. Jurors found Alvin guilty in December 2013 after two days of deliberations.
“I’ve been lost and in a daze for two years,” said Kent’s mother Patricia Kent, during her impact statement to the court. “I wish the defendant knew how close me and my daughter were, she was like my shadow.”
Kent would have turned 30 years old last Friday. She is survived by a young daughter who was six years old when she witnessed her mother’s murder.
“I do not want her to relive this because from what’s she’s told me, she’s seen it,” said Patricia Kent, who is raising the girl.
Police found Kent on June 4, 2012 suffering from apparent stab wounds at her apartment in the 3400 block of 13th Place Southeast at around 9 in the morning. She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
During trial, Alvin’s defense focused on Kent’s boyfriend Lamarzs Wilson who witnessed the incident, along with Kent’s six year old daughter. Attorney Dominique Winters alleged that Wilson stabbed Kent after she erupted in a drug-fueled anger in her apartment that day.
“This was the defendant’s intentional deception, to point a finger at an innocent man,” said Laura Worm prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Wilson is currently serving a sentence for unlawful possession of a firearm, but he was allowed to deliver an impact statement Wednesday.
“I still don’t understand why it happened,” said Lamarz. “I still wake up and think about her at night and I still have dreams about her.”
According to charging documents Lamarz stopped the attack, but on Wednesday, Wilson told the court he still blames himself for not being able to protect her.
On behalf of Alvin, defense attorney Anthony Matthews said that the defendant knows the loss of the Kent’s mother and of Wilson because Alvin also lost a friend that day.
“They were best friends, they were inseparable,” said Matthews who was asking Judge Ronna Beck for the minimum sentence of 30 years.
Before delivering her sentence, Judge Beck expressed how troubled she was by the information held from the jury about Alvin’s drug addiction to PCP.
“This was an outrageous incident and very hard to comprehend,” said Judge Beck. “At least the PCP gives an understanding.”
In the pre-sentencing report, prosecutors noted that one week before Kent’s death, Alvin bit Kent on the head while on PCP in front of three witnesses. According to the report, Kent had to be dragged home by witnesses who also called the police.
When police arrived to Alvin’s apartment they noticed an odor consistent with PCP and as a result of her condition requested she be transported to the hospital for medical services.
A press release from the United States Attorney’s Office is below.
District Woman Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison
For June 2012 Slaying of Next-Door Neighbor
-Victim Was Stabbed in Presence of Her Six-Year-Old Child-WASHINGTON – Cydrisse Alvin, 33, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 35 years in prison on a charge of first-degree murder while armed for the June 2012 stabbing of her next-door neighbor, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Alvin was found guilty by a jury in December 2013, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. She was sentenced by the Honorable Ronna L. Beck. Upon completion of her prison term, Alvin will be placed on five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, on June 4, 2012, at about 9 a.m., Alvin knocked on the door of the victim, 28-year-old Amber Kent, her next-door neighbor and former friend. Ms. Kent answered the door in her pajamas. Within seconds, Alvin entered and stabbed Ms. Kent three times – once in the chest and twice in the back. The murder happened in the presence of Ms. Kent’s daughter, who was six years old at the time. After stabbing Ms. Kent, Alvin quickly fled the scene and was apprehended hours later.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of the Metropolitan Police Department. He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Marian Russell, Fern Rhedrick, Phil Aronson, Ethel Noble, Sharon Newman, and Mia Beamon; Litigation Technology Specialist Joshua Ellen; Investigative Analyst Sharon Johnson, and David Foster and Tamara Ince of the Victim Witness Assistance Unit. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen recognized the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Worm, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
