The sister of a Lincoln University student who was reportedly involved in a dormitory altercation with a group of men has been charged with the fatal stabbing of a senior at the Southern Chester County school, authorities said Thursday.
39-year-old Nydira Smith was arrested Wednesday and charged with stabbing three students, including the deceased, after a fight broke out in a dormitory at the university in Lower Oxford, Pennsylvania.
Jawine Evans, a 21-year-old student from Philadelphia approaching graduation from the historically Black university was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders after having suffered a stab wound in the right side of his neck, according to police. He was found in a grassy area outside the dorm at the end of a trail of blood.
Two other men, identified as Eric Dickerson and Clifton Walker, both 22 and both residents of the dorm where the incident occurred, were also stabbed — Dickerson in the upper right arm and Walker in the back. Both were treated at Christiana Hospital in Delaware the night of the incident and released.
Smith is charged with first degree and third degree murder, possessing an instrument of a crime, aggravated assault and other related charges. She was taken to to Chester County Prison after being arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Marian Vito of West Chester. She is being held without bail due to the nature of the charges.
District Attorney Deb Ryan appeared at a press conference at the school Thursday morning with Lincoln officials and members of the Chester County Detectives to announce the arrest and give details of the investigation.
“This is a parent’s worst nightmare,” she said in a release. “This senseless and tragic incident is devastating to not only the families of the victims but the entire Lincoln University community – students, staff and parents – who believed their college campus was a safe place.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones affected by this,” said Ryan. “My office will prosecute the defendant to the fullest extent of the law to bring justice to Jawine Evans’ family, the other victims, and Lincoln University.”
It is believed to be the first homicide at the school in more than two decades.
University Police Chief Chief Marc Partee said: “Lincoln University is thankful for the assistance provided by all of our area law enforcement partners in responding to this horrific incident. We are especially thankful for Chester County Detectives, who has seamlessly partnered with us from the onset of the tragedy to provide the necessary resources, direction, energy, and support to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.”
Smith was identified in an arrest affidavit as the sister of Malik Stevens, a Lincoln University student involved in the fight. He has not been charged in the case.
According to the criminal complaint by Detective John DiBattista III, on Feb. 16, Lincoln police were called to the Thurgood Marshall Living and Learning Center at 9:14 p.m. for the report of a fight. When police arrived, they found Evans outside the dormitory with a knife wound to the neck and Dickerson and Walker wounded inside the dorm.
EMS and paramedics from Oxford Fire Company responded to the scene, where they pronounced Evans dead. The other two victims were transported to Christiana Hospital for treatment.
The stabbing was determined to have occurred in the first-floor hallway of of the dormitory’s south wing, which had blood spattered on the floor, walls, and doorways. Bloody footprints led to the third floor, where one of the victims lived.
Investigators recovered a video that showed the altercation during which the stabbing occurred, after consulting with the school’s Director of Student Success, Lyndsay Raymond, who said that it had been circulating on social media in the time following the fight.
In the video, Smith is seen plunging a knife into Evans’ neck, after which Evans staggers backward with a traumatic arterial bleed from his neck. Evans is heard yelling, “She stabbed me,” and clutching the right side of his neck. She could also seen making stabbing motions towards the surviving two victims. The video shows at least six more students in danger of being stabbed.
A resident of the dormitory provided investigators with two other videos she took of the scene outside a dorm room on the first floor that showed the incident. Multiple participants were identified in the fight, including Stevens.
A check of the police log from that night showed that a female had called Lincoln police around 7:30 p.m. on the night of the stabbing. She said that there was a group of men threatening her brother in his dorm, upset because his roommate allegedly stole something from them. The caller, whose phone number was later connected to Smith, said that “family was coming up” to address the situation.
Investigators recovered security footage from Lincoln University that shows a maroon Infiniti registered to Smith entering the campus at 9:07 p.m. – just before the stabbing – and leaving at 9:22 p.m. Further investigation revealed the Infiniti traveling east in Upper Chichester, Delaware County, at 10:05 p.m.
On the student videos taken and review by detectives, the woman who stabbed the three men could be seen wearing a white or grey sweatshirt wit yellow lettering and a yellow hat, according to the complaint. She was accompanied by another woman who wore a plaid shirt and a scarf on her head. That person has not been identified.
Philadelphia police located the Infiniti in the 7100-block of Ardleigh Street in Philadelphia on Feb. 17, and placed it under surveillance. That same day, police executed a search warrant at a residence on Ardleigh Street identified as Smith’s home. Inside, they found blood-stained clothing consistent with the sweatshirt and hat Smith was seen wearing on video during the murder.
Detectives also recovered a set of knives from her home that had one knife missing.
Finally, medical paperwork from Chestnut Hill Hospital was recovered, indicating that the defendant sought treatment for a laceration to her hand.
Investigators searched the Infiniti on Feb. 18, 2022, and found human blood inside the car.
The preliminary hearing is set for Mar. 8, 2022, before Magisterial District Judge Scott Massey. Assistant District Attorney Alyssa Amoroso is the assigned prosecutor. No attorney is listed for Smith on court dockets.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact DiBattista at 610-344-6866.
Tell us your thoughts...