WEST CHESTER, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — The 41-year-old woman who stabbed and killed a Lincoln University student two years ago was sentenced Monday in Chester County.
On Feb. 16, 2022, Nydira Smith stabbed and killed 21-year-old student Jawine Evans and injured two others during a brawl involving her brother.
She says she tried to stop the fight, but when she got punched in the head, she feared for her and her brother’s lives.
At her sentencing hearing, Smith told the court she was “mortified” when she saw herself in the video stabbing Jawine in the neck, saying that is not who she is. She says she only went to the university that night to get her brother out of a bad situation and had no intention of hurting anyone.
Jawine’s mother Beverly Evans testified at the sentencing, asking Smith, “How dare you take (him) from me? Who gave you the right to kill my son?”
Smith said her greatest turmoil is living with the fact she’s caused another family to grieve.
Smith is sentenced to three to six years in prison, but with two years served in Chester County Prison, she could be out in one year.
As Chester County Judge Nicole Forzato handed down the sentence, she acknowledged prosecutors believe the homicide was first-degree murder, but noted that last fall the jury found Smith guilty of involuntary manslaughter, not murder.